Eisai to fight tropical diseases with WIPO Re:Search

Eisai has joined a host of other global pharmaceutical firms in the WIPO Re:Search initiative, which will see companies pool resources to fight neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

The drug maker is the only Japanese organisation to sign up for the project and has provided information on seven candidate compounds, including one that could be used to treat the infectious disease leishmaniasis.

Sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the initiative will maintain a public database of intellectual property assets and resources to support the development of new NTD treatments.

"Through participation in the WIPO Re:Search consortium, Eisai seeks to address global unmet medical needs and contribute to an even greater number of patients," the firm said in a statement.

NTDs are thought to affect more than one billion people each year, with many victims living the world's most deprived countries.

GlaxoSmithKline also pledged its commitment to WIPO Re:Search this week, announcing that it will contribute its full anti-malarial dataset of compounds to the platform.