New partnership fights malaria in developing countries
Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a non-profit Swiss health foundation, and GlaxoSmithKline have announced a new partnership aimed at finding treatments for malaria. GSK will contribute funding, staff with drug discovery expertise in malaria and the use of its drug discovery unit in Tres Cantos, Spain, which leads research into the diseases of the developing world. A portfolio of projects will be jointly managed by MMV and GSK. MMV will fund malaria drug discovery projects by subsidising the employment of additional scientists to join the existing staff at Tres Cantos and will provide expertise from its External Scientific Advisory Committee. Any successful medicines discovered as a result of this initiative will be made available in endemic areas on a not-for-profit basis. The agreement is for an indefinite period.