Roche donates medicine to Brazilian government to fight tropical disease
Roche, of Basel in Switzerland, has donated the all the rights relating to its medicine Benzonidazole, used to treat the tropical disease Chagas, to the Brazilian government.
Roche, of Basel in Switzerland, has donated the all the rights relating to its medicine Benzonidazole, used to treat the tropical disease Chagas, to the Brazilian government.
Following Roche's donation, the Brazilian government will set up a manufacturing plant in the state of Acre (Amazone region) and start manufacturing the drug with the know-how of Roche.
Chagas is a potentially fatal tropical disease caused by the trypanosoma parasite. It exists only in South America and affects around 18m people, of whom 5-6m are in Brazil.
'In handing over this essential drug to the Brazilian government we hope that we can reduce the suffering associated with Chagas, since the Brazilian government can optimise the use of this important drug within its current programmes,' said William M. Burns, head of Roche's pharmaceuticals division.