Sanofi-aventis pledges donation to WHO tropical disease scheme

Sanofi-aventis has agreed a new deal with the World Health Organization (WHO) that will see it provide further funding to aid the fight against neglected tropical disease.

The agreement extends the partnership between the drugmaker and the WHO for a further five years and will see Sanofi-aventis contribute an additional $25 million (15.44 million pounds).

This brings the company's total contribution to $75 million, which is being used to pay for medicines, professional training, logistics and awareness campaigns in underprivileged areas of Africa.

Sanofi-aventis has been working with the WHO on this programme since 2001, with the aim of controlling dangerous conditions such as sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

Christopher Viehbacher, chief executive officer of Sanofi-aventis, said: "This successful partnership has provided the dedicated teams on the ground with the means to treat these neglected diseases."

Last month, the company's vaccines division Sanofi Pasteur agreed a new partnership with the International Vaccine Institute to promote research into dengue fever treatments.