The World Health Organisation and other international public and private health agencies have set up the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) to develop antimalarial drugs. MMV will seek resources from various bodies, including governments, foundations, philanthropic organisations and the pharmaceutical industry. It aims to secure the registration of, on average, one new antimalarial drug every five years.
"MMV has been created because the increased costs of developing and registering pharmaceutical products, coupled with the prospects of inadequate commercial returns, have resulted in the withdrawal of the majority of research-based pharmaceutical companies from R&D investment in tropical diseases," says Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland (WHO director general).
The initial co-sponsors include the WHO, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations, the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development.
More information can be found on the internet at www.mmv.org