Novartis confirms commitment to WHO leprosy initiatives

Novartis has affirmed its commitment to combating leprosy globally by signing a new memorandum of understanding with the World Health Organization (WHO).

During a ceremony at the body's headquarters in Geneva, Novartis signed a deal which will see the company continue to provide free multidrug therapy (MDT) medications to treat the condition in all countries across the world.

It represents the continuation of a collaboration between Novartis and the WHO which has been running for around a decade and will allow for the treatment of 1.1 leprosy patients over the next five years.

Since 2000, it is estimated that Novartis has donated more than 45 million MDT blister packs, while patients have also been offered support by the company's Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development branch.

Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer of Novartis, said: "We have made tremendous progress, but the battle has not yet been completely won."

Earlier this month, the company announced that it will be working with Synthetic Genomics Vaccines to create groundbreaking new influenza vaccines based on artificially-constructed seed viruses.