Unitaid recherche des technologies innovantes et durables pour aider à lutter contre les maladies

Genève – Unitaid a le plaisir d’annoncer un appel à propositions pour des projets visant à accélérer le développement de versions à action prolongée de médicaments, susceptibles de révolutionner le traitement et la prévention de maladies telles que le VIH, la tuberculose et le paludisme dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire.

Il existe des médicaments oraux quotidiens sûrs et efficaces pour la prévention et le traitement des principales maladies, mais ils ne sont pas toujours pris de façon constante, ce qui entraîne une détérioration de la santé, la propagation des maladies et le développement de superbactéries résistantes aux médicaments.

Les traitements à action prolongée comprennent les médicaments injectables à libération lente, les implants, les timbres ou anneaux qui peuvent durer plus d’un mois, ainsi que des médicaments oraux qui peuvent être actifs plus d’une semaine. Cette façon d’administrer des médicaments libère les patients de schémas thérapeutiques complexes et quotidiens qui comportent de nombreuses pilules, et pourrait également améliorer l’accès aux médicaments et lutter contre la stigmatisation.

Unitaid fait appel à des propositions qui :

  • reformulent des médicaments de référence essentiels en produits à longue durée d’action ;
  • permettent la mise en œuvre de plans solides pour commercialiser ces produits, y compris une stratégie de mise à l’échelle pour les déployer à grande échelle ;
  • se concentrent sur des produits pouvant être lancés sur le marché dans un délai de trois à cinq ans.

Par le biais d’appels à propositions, Unitaid trouve de nouvelles idées intelligentes pour contribuer à alléger le fardeau des maladies et mène des projets pilotes qui, s’ils réussissent, sont déployés à grande échelle par des organisations partenaires telles que le Fonds mondial. Un comité d’examen indépendant composé d’experts en santé mondiale aide Unitaid à choisir les meilleures propositions à financer grâce à un processus de sélection concurrentielle.

Unitaid cherche à financer de nouveaux outils contre le paludisme à Plasmodium vivax

Genève – Unitaid a lancé un appel à propositions pour de nouveaux projets susceptibles de contribuer à éliminer le parasite responsable de la deuxième forme de paludisme la plus répandue dans le monde, Plasmodium vivax, en améliorant l’accès à de meilleurs traitements pédiatriques et pour adultes.

Plus d’un tiers de la population mondiale, principalement en Asie et en Amérique latine, est exposée au risque de P. vivax, un parasite transmis par les moustiques qui cause de graves maladies et des décès et qui pèse lourdement sur les patients et leurs soignants.

Les populations rurales pauvres font face à un risque élevé lié à P. vivax, de même que les populations migrantes et les groupes marginalisés. Les enfants de moins de cinq ans courent le plus grand risque de souffrir d’effets néfastes suite à une infection par P. vivax.

Deux médicaments sont nécessaires pour guérir les patients infectés par P. vivax, l’un pour traiter la maladie dans l’immédiat et l’autre pour éliminer les parasites du foie afin que le paludisme ne récidive plus. L’élimination compète des parasites est appelée « cure radicale ».

L’expansion de la cure radicale contribuerait à atteindre les objectifs mondiaux de lutte contre le paludisme pour 2030, dont celui de réduire le paludisme de 90 % et d’éliminer la maladie dans 35 pays.

La date limite pour soumettre une proposition est le 17 avril 2019, à midi.

Pour plus de détails sur l’appel à propositions, cliquer ici.

P. vivax est la principale forme de paludisme dans les pays qui sont de bons candidats pour l’élimination de la maladie. Selon l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé, le parasite représente plus de 70 % des cas de paludisme dans les pays comptant moins de 5 000 cas par an.

Par le biais d’appels à propositions, Unitaid trouve de nouvelles idées intelligentes pour contribuer à réduire le fardeau des maladies et mène des projets pilotes qui, s’ils réussissent, sont déployés à grande échelle par des organisations partenaires telles que le Fonds mondial. Un comité d’examen constitué d’experts indépendants en santé mondiale aide Unitaid à choisir les meilleures propositions à financer grâce à un processus de sélection concurrentielle.

The Medicines Patent Pool and Unitaid publish intellectual property report on long-acting technologies

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and Unitaid have jointly published a study into the patent landscape for long-acting technologies with the potential to have a major impact on preventing or treating HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, and malaria in low- and middle-income countries.

The Intellectual Property Report on Long-Acting Technologies provides an overview of the intellectual property status of long-acting products under development or already on the market as of October, 2018.

The patent situation for long-acting products can be complex, the report finds, involving patent protection on the drugs themselves, on the technologies needed to manufacture them, and, in some cases, on the delivery devices.

In the case of nanoformulations, for example, there is high potential for overlapping patents.  The delivery platforms are often applied to multiple products and are covered, as well, by extensive intellectual property protection. These factors and others summarised in the report may complicate adapting some long-acting products to the needs of low- and middle-income countries.

The report also finds that the geographical breadth of patent protection varies significantly among long-acting products, but that in general,  products appear to have patents pending or granted for generic manufacturing in key countries.

The report, compiled by the MPP and Unitaid, provides a patent landscape of intellectual property protection for long-acting products marketed or under development for prevention and treatment of HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, and malaria.

“There is huge potential for long-acting technologies to make a substantial difference to treatment adherence in low- and middle-income countries, for diseases including HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis. But this won’t happen by itself,”  MPP Executive Director Charles Gore said. “Much collaboration is still required to develop them and then ensure affordable access. This report, by mapping the patent landscape for these technologies, will help accelerate this process.”

The report discusses the challenges of developing a healthy market for long-acting products in low- and middle-income countries. It also touches on the range of actors involved, where opportunities for partnerships might be found to speed development and widen access.

“To avoid the pitfalls of the past, when new medicines were introduced first in high-income countries and only much later in lower-income countries, we need to keep ahead of the curve to prepare for a healthy market and prompt access to these game-changing long-acting tools,”  Unitaid Executive Director Lelio Marmora said.

For more information:

Long-acting technologies for infectious diseases in LMICs – The Lancet, October 2018

Unitaid va soutenir de nouveaux outils contre le paludisme à P. vivax et des technologies en santé à longue durée d’action pour combattre les maladies

MARRAKESH, Morocco – Unitaid’s Executive Board agreed to support innovative, long-acting medical technologies to prevent and treat infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries, and to promote new tools for the diagnosis and treatment of Plasmodium vivax malaria.

In approving the two new areas in which it will target investment, the Board opened the way for Unitaid to invite relevant projects for funding.

In high-income countries, long-acting technologies have brought a shift from daily oral medication to monthly, or even less-frequent dosing for conditions ranging from schizophrenia to osteoporosis. Long-acting contraception has already transformed reproductive health in low-income countries.

Unitaid sees promise in quickly adapting long-acting technologies for major public health challenges in low- and middle-income countries — where introducing the latest health innovations requires operational, regulatory and administrative hurdles to be overcome. Long-acting products could be made available as long-acting injectables, implants, rings, patches, and weekly capsules.

“A rich pipeline is emerging in long-acting technologies, “ Unitaid Executive Director Lelio Marmora said. “Shortening the time to make these innovations a reality in low- and middle- income countries could significantly reduce illness and death from infectious diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria – and many other conditions.”

Long-acting medicines for treatment and prevention hold the promise of revolutionizing the management of major diseases. Daily doses of medicines might no longer be needed, making adherence to treatment or prevention regimens much easier.

Poor adherence to medicines is a major healthcare challenge. It not only leads to continued illness and the spread of diseases but can enhance drug-resistance, including in TB, HIV and malaria. Drug-resistance ranks among the biggest threats to global health.

The Board’s action today also allows for Unitaid to explore projects to fight Plasmodium vivax malaria. More than one-third of the world’s population lives in areas affected by this species of malaria. Those at high risk of Plasmodium vivax malaria include migrants, the rural poor, and children under five years old.

Specifically, Unitaid will explore opportunities such as piloting a new single-dose cure for Plasmodium vivax and supporting development of quality-assured paediatric treatments.

“Radical cure has the potential to avert millions of P. vivax cases and save tens of millions of dollars,” Marmora said. “There is a strong rationale for Unitaid to leverage its unique role and operating model to support the safe use of tafenoquine and other tools.”

Plasmodium vivax accounts for a small proportion of cases of malaria globally and is prevalent in Asian countries, such as India and Pakistan, Latin America and parts of Africa. If not treated effectively, patients may experience increasingly debilitating relapses that can eventually prove fatal.

Unitaid’s malaria portfolio is expanding to support world elimination targets

MAPUTO (Mozambique) – The world’s malaria epidemic will not end without a strong push in prevention, diagnosis and treatment programmes, WHO’s annual malaria report says, a strategy Unitaid has been pursuing through a sharp increase in investments and an intensification of partnerships.

WHO’s World Malaria Report 2018, launched today in Maputo, indicates that progress against the mosquito-borne disease has stalled globally, and that it has even made gains in some countries.

Unitaid’s malaria grant portfolio will reach US$ 360 million this year, up from US$ 150 million in 2015, and is on track to reach US$ 400 million by 2020. The organization’s projects are finding better ways to control mosquitoes that spread malaria, protect children and pregnant women most endangered by the disease, and speed up access to the best tests, prevention tools and medicines.

“Our catalytic investments are bringing the best health innovations for malaria to those hardest to reach, closing gaps in access to critical products and services,” said Unitaid Executive Director Lelio Marmora, who visited Maputo this week alongside Board Chair Marta Maurás.

Among the latest investments are the US$ 66 million New Nets Project with the Global Fund and Innovative Vector Control Consortium to pilot bed nets treated with new insecticide combinations in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sleeping under an insecticide-treated net is the best way to prevent malaria.

Recently completed Unitaid-funded projects have made notable contributions against malaria.The Improving Severe Malaria Outcomes project, implemented by Medicines for Malaria Venture, amplified the use and decreased the price of injectable artesunate, a cutting-edge, lifesaving treatment for severe malaria. The project is expected to be saving 66,000 children’s lives annually by 2021.

Another success was the ACCESS-SMC project to fight rainy-season malaria among small children in Africa´s rugged, malaria-prone Sahel region. The $US 68 million project proved that seasonal malaria chemoprevention, a drug treatment, could be successfully carried out on a large scale in the Sahel. The encouraging results of ACCESS-SMC have prompted governments and other organisations to start their own seasonal malaria chemoprevention programmes.

“Unitaid will continue to address blind spots in the global response,”  Maurás said. “Malaria won’t be ended until it’s ended for everyone.”

Medicines We Can Trust Campaign Rallies Mekong Governments and Leaders to Improve Access to Quality Medicines

PHNOM PENH, 7 November 2018 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and other leaders from the Greater Mekong Subregion joined hands as part of a global campaign to improve access to quality medicines. The announcement was made during the Phnom Penh Regional Conference on the fight against falsified, substandard and unlicensed medical products.

The Medicines We Can Trust campaign is a global movement advocating for access to quality medicines and stronger health regulatory systems.

“The world wastes approximately US$30 billion each year on poor-quality medicines,” said Dr. Phillip Nguyen, Director, International Regulatory Policy & Programs, USP, a committed partner of the campaign. “Substandard and falsified medicines give patients false hope, erodes trust in health systems and fail to protect people from the devastating impact of diseases. Despite the scale of this issue, it is rarely prioritized – or even discussed outside of expert circles.  The Medicines We Can Trust initiative is a multi-stakeholder effort focused on raising awareness on the impact of poor-quality medicines on peoples’ lives.”

At least one in 10 medicines are copied illegally with substandard manufacturing practices in low- and middle-income countries, including many countries in Asia Pacific. In Southeast Asia alone, an estimated 30% of antimalarial drugs are of poor-quality contributing to an alarming rise in antimalarial resistance across the region. Anti malarials is just one of a broader range of drugs that are becoming in-effective; antimicrobial resistance already accounts for 700,000 deaths every year, could cause up to 10 million deaths per year, and cost US$100 trillion by 2050.

“In the Greater Mekong Subregion, cross-border collaboration between countries will be critical to stop the ongoing distribution of poor-quality medicines through trade channels. Cambodia’s leadership in convening a regional and multisectoral meeting to address the issue is a great start,” said Ruby Shang, Chair of the Asia Pacific Leaders’ Malaria Alliance (APLMA) Board.

“Momentum is building. Apart from the Cambodia conference, positive leadership on this issue is evident through existing platforms like Medicine Quality & Global Health conference, and Regional Regulatory Partnership (RRP). This global campaign will further strengthen this leadership as it engages the regional community, including policymakers, civil society, regulators, health professionals, and researchers to act against substandard and falsified medicines.” added Dr. Sivong Sengaloundeth, Deputy Director General, Food and Drug Department, Ministry of Health, Lao PDR.

“Ensuring that all people can access quality medicines to effectively fight infectious diseases is crucial. Unitaid is proud to support the campaign against poor-quality medicines to tackle the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance,” said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Unitaid’s Deputy Executive Director. “These superbugs are threatening the global health community’s gains against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and jeopardizing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.” Unitaid invests half of its portfolio – US$ 500 million – in innovative grants to combat drug resistance and is a committed partner of the campaign.

Visit Medicines We Can Trust to get involved and learn more. #MedsWeCanTrust 

 

The Hummingbird. Unitaid News – October 2018. (en anglais seulement)

The Hummingbird

Plusieurs organisations mondiales actives dans le domaine de la santé vont adopter de nouvelles modalités de collaboration pour agir plus efficacement

Berlin – Eleven heads of the world’s leading health and development organizations today signed a landmark commitment to find new ways of working together to accelerate progress towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Coordinated by the World Health Organization, the initiative unites the work of 11 organizations, with others set to join in the next phase.

The commitment follows a request from Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana, and Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, with support from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to develop a global action plan to define how global actors can better collaborate to accelerate progress towards the health-related targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

“Healthy people are essential for sustainable development – to ending poverty, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies and protecting the environment. However, despite great strides made against many of the leading causes of death and disease, we must redouble our efforts or we will not reach several of the health-related targets,” the organizations announced today at the World Health Summit in Berlin. “The Global Action Plan represents an historic commitment to new ways of working together to accelerate progress toward meeting the 2030 goals. We are committed to redefine how our organizations work together to deliver more effective and efficient support to countries and to achieve better health and well-being for all people.”

The group has agreed to develop new ways of working together to maximize resources and measure progress in a more transparent and engaging way. The first phase of the plan’s development is organized under three strategic approaches: align, accelerate and account.

Align: The organizations have committed to coordinate programmatic, financing and operational processes to increase collective efficiency and impact on a number of shared priorities such as gender equality and reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.

Accelerate: They have agreed to develop common approaches and coordinate action in areas of work that have the potential to increase the pace of progress in global health. The initial set of seven “accelerators” include community and civil society engagement, research and development, data and sustainable financing.

Account: To improve transparency and accountability to countries and development partners, the health organizations are breaking new ground by setting common milestones for nearly 50 health-related targets across 14 Sustainable Development Goals. These milestones will provide a critical checkpoint and common reference to determine where the world stands in 2023 and whether it is on track to reach the 2030 goals.

The Global Action Plan will also enhance collective action and leverage funds to address gender inequalities that act as barriers to accessing health, and to improve comprehensive quality health care for women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health services.

The organizations that have already signed up to the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All are: Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Global Financing Facility, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, Unitaid, UN Women, the World Bank and WHO. The World Food Programme has committed to join the plan in the coming months.

The final plan will be delivered in September 2019 at the United Nations General Assembly.

For more information, www.who.int/sdg/global-action-plan

Media enquiries

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance : Frédérique Tissandier; +41 79 300 8253; ftissandier@gavi.org

Global Fund: Ibon Villelabeitia; +41 79 292 5426; ibbon.Villelabeitia@theglobalfund.org

UNAIDS: Sophie Barton-Knott; +41 79 514 6896; bartonknotts@unaids.org

UNDP: Adam Cathro; +19179159725; adam.cathro@undp.org

UNFPA: Omar Gharzeddine; +1 212 297 5028; gharzeddine@unfpa.org

UNICEF: Sabrina Sidhu; +1 917 476 1537; ssidhu@unicef.org

Unitaid: Andrew Hurst, +41795616807; hursta@unitaid.who.int

UN Women: Maria Sanchez Aponte; +16467814507; maria.sanchez@unwomen.org

World Bank Group: Maya Brahmam; +1 202 361 2594; mbrahmam@worldbankgroup.org

WHO: Christian Lindmeier; +4179 500 6552; lindmeierch@who.int