GlaxoSmithKline recognised for fight against lymphatic parasites

GlaxoSmithKline has won the International Chamber of Commerce’s 2006 World Business Award to recognise the UK’s largest pharmaceutical company’s involvement in trying to eradicate lymphatic filariasis (LF), a parasitic disease which can cause extreme and debilitating symptoms.

LF is a tropical disease transmitted by mosquitoes, which carry the larvae of filarial parasitic worms. These infect the body’s lymphatic system, often creating blockages in lymphatic ducts and consequently causing fevers, pain and elephantitis, where the tissues surrounding the limbs and genital areas become grotesquely swollen. Glaxo says that aside from the fevers and pain, these aesthetic effects can trigger psychological damage and cause children to be ostracised from school.

The LF programme is a partnership with the World Health Organisation. The company says there are two drugs required to halt LF – one is a Glaxo drug, albendazole, the other a Merck drug, Mectizan.

JP Garnier, chief executive officer of Glaxo, said: “For too long, lymphatic filariasis has been a neglected disease that plagues the poorest communities in the developing world with severe economic, social and physiological suffering.”

“We can and will eliminate LF from the face of the earth and ensure that no country or person ever again suffers from the effects of this dreaded and disabling disease,” he added.

The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis estimates that 120 million people are infected with the disease, with 40 million incapacitated. It says that the parasitic worms can live for four to six years while producing more larvae.

© Adfero Ltd