GlaxoSmithKline joins WIPO Re:Search platform for tropical diseases

GlaxoSmithKline will help to fight the spread of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as part of the WIPO Re:Search platform.

The pharmaceutical giant has joined the project, which is sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in partnership with BIO Ventures for Global Health.

WIPO Re:Search provides a searchable, public database of intellectual property assets and resources to support organisations developing new medicines for diseases such as dengue, rabies, malaria and tuberculosis.

It is estimated that more than one billion people are affected by NTDs each year, with many victims living the world's poorest countries.

"A challenge on this scale requires industry, academia, NGOs and governments to work in partnership to develop new tools and approaches," said Duncan Learmouth, senior vice-president of GlaxoSmithKline's developing countries and market access operating unit.

The company has agreed to contribute its anti-malarial dataset, which includes 13,500 compounds that have shown evidence of activity against malaria in screening, to WIPO Re:Search.

Other companies involved in the project include AstraZeneca, Eisai, Merck, Novartis and Pfizer.