Three non-profit organisations involved in the research and development (R&D) of “effective, affordable, and life-saving medicines” are pooling resources to address the growing unmet needs of the world’s most vulnerable patients.

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), GARDP Foundation, and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) announced a cooperation agreement on Monday to “explore how they can further pool their expertise and resources to strengthen the efficiency and coordination of their activities”.

The cooperation focuses particularly on R&D, as well as joint policy advocacy and communications activities to raise awareness of their non-profit drug development model. 

“The need for medical innovation is greater than ever. In 2024, an estimated 282 million people contracted malaria, and 610,000 died from it. Nearly five million deaths a year are now associated with drug-resistant bacterial infections. More than one billion people are affected by neglected diseases each year,” the organisations note in a media release.

“Recent health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, are also stark reminders that many much-needed life-saving innovations, including therapeutics, do not exist – and when they do, they too often fail to reach the most vulnerable populations.”

‘Leaving no patient behind’

DNDi executive director Dr Luis Pizarro said: “The global health environment is changing fast, but patients’ unmet needs remain. In a rapidly shifting environment, closer, smarter, more agile collaboration is essential to deliver life-saving health tools for millions in urgent need.”

He invited other non-profit research organisations “committed to equitable access and leaving no patient behind” to join the collaboration to accelerate the development of life-saving treatments for patients who need them most. 

“At a time of growing antimicrobial resistance and shrinking global health resources, collaboration is no longer optional – it is essential,” said Dr Peter Beyer, deputy executive director of GARDP.

MMV CEO Dr Martin Fitchet said that “partnership and collaboration are essential to maximising global health impact”.

“By working more closely with DNDi and GARDP, we can accelerate patient-centred innovation and ensure that life-saving treatments reach those who need them most.”

The organisations have already cooperated for several years. DNDi and GARDP established a joint Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) platform to share their know-how in the design, development and scale-up of manufacturing processes of active pharmaceutical ingredients and drug products. 

This year, DNDi and MMV plan to launch a joint regulatory science platform to shorten registration timelines, strengthen their regulatory strategies, and accelerate equitable access to medicines through collaboration and shared knowledge.

Image Credits: DNDi.