[Ip-health] Spain Becomes a Major Government Funder of MMV

[Jaya Banerji]

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Spain Becomes a Major Government Funder of MMV



Announcements at the Stakeholders' Meeting in Ghana highlight
antimalarial innovation.



Accra, Ghana, 31 May 2008. Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) kicked
off its 8th Annual Stakeholders' Meeting in Accra, Ghana with the
exciting announcement of a 3 million euros grant from the Spanish
government to expand the distribution of affordable drugs and resources
and find new and effective drugs to fight malaria worldwide. The
Stakeholders' Meeting and the annual MMV Access Symposium, took place
between May 31st and June 2nd, and attracted over 150 players from the
global and regional malaria community.



The Stakeholders' Meeting was inaugurated by Major Courage
E.K.Quashigah, the Honourable Minister of Health of Ghana and a keynote
speech was given by Joaquim Alberto Chissano, former President of the
Republic of Mozambique and Head, Joaquim Chissano Foundation. President
Chissano presided over the award ceremony for the winners of the
first-ever MMV Malaria Drug Innovation Award and the Project of the Year
Award (2007). Novartis was being recognized for their exemplary work in
the development of Coartem(r) Dispersible, a new antimalarial especially
designed for children that easily disperses in water and has a sweet
flavour.



"We are truly honored by this recognition of the innovation of
Coartem(r) Dispersible, which will benefit millions of children
suffering from malaria," said Silvio Gabriel, Executive Vice President
of Novartis AG and Head of the Novartis Malaria Initiatives. "Last year
alone, we provided Coartem without profit for nearly 50 million
children, but many millions more remain in need.  With our partner MMV,
we are committed to bringing high-quality, innovative solutions like
Coartem-Dispersible to the fight against malaria and to helping save
millions more young lives."



MMV's annual Project of the Year award went to the Eskitis Institute of
Griffith University in Australia for their innovative use of technology
and excellent progress to identify malaria targets from natural products
including marine plant life from the Great Barrier Reef. The researchers
announced at the meeting that their research has now identified a unique
chemical structure that specifically targets the malaria parasite. This
class of compound is being moved rapidly forward in the drug development
pathway.



"We at the Eskitis Institute feel a tremendous pride in being chosen
amongst so many excellent projects for this award," said Dr. Ron Quinn,
Head of the Eskitis Institute. "There are enormous untapped resources in
our environment - our aim is to use cutting-edge science and technology
to uncover those and use them for the benefit of the global community."



According to the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for
Development (AECID), funding MMV for the development and delivery of
antimalarial drugs is recognition of MMV's significant contribution in
the global malaria fight and the importance of innovative research to
ensure that the world will have the necessary tools to fight and
eventually eradicate this scourge.



The Access Symposium opened on the eve of June 1st and was inaugurated
with a keynote speech by Dora Akunyili, Director General of Nigeria's
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. She spoke
on 'Challenges to access to ACTs in Africa: A personal view'. The
symposium focused on 'Expanding Reach of ACTs in the Private Sector:
Dialogue with Countries'.



The MMV meetings were preceded by a Drawing Competition for primary
school children, an event that has become something of an MMV tradition.
Children from schools in Accra came together on 29th of May to draw and
paint pictures inspired by the theme of malaria and how it affects their
lives. An award ceremony took place on 30th of May at the Ghana National
Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall.



"MMV is looking forward to welcoming its stakeholders and supporters to
these meetings in Ghana and sharing with them our progress and
challenges. We are keen to build our relationship with the Ghanaian
Ministry of Health and its National Malaria Control Programme. The more
we collaborate to fight malaria, the sooner we can eradicate it,' said
Chris Hentschel, President and CEO of MMV.



About MMV

Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) is a non-profit organisation
dedicated to reducing the burden of malaria in disease-endemic countries
by discovering, developing and facilitating the delivery of effective
and affordable antimalarial drugs through public-private partnerships.
After eight years of operation, MMV is managing the largest-ever
portfolio of malaria drug research with nearly 40 projects in different
stages of drug research and development. MMV's goal is to register at
least one new antimalarial before 2010 and maintain a sustainable
pipeline of antimalarials to meet the needs of the 2.4 billion people at
risk from this deadly disease. http://www.mmv.org <http://www.mmv.org/>



About Novartis
Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) provides healthcare solutions that address the
evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on growth areas
in healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet
these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals,
preventive vaccines and diagnostic tools, and consumer health products.
Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In
2007, the Group's continuing operations (excluding divestments in 2007)
achieved net sales of USD 38.1 billion and net income of USD 6.5
billion. Approximately USD 6.4 billion was invested in R&D activities
throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis
Group companies employ approximately 98,200 full-time associates and
operate in over 140 countries around the world. For more information,
please visit http://www.novartis.com
<https://mail.mmv.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.novartis.com>
.



About Eskitis Institute
The Eskitis Institute investigates novel drug and cell therapies to
target the molecular and cellular mechanisms of human disorders,
including neglected diseases. The Institute comprises 120 research and
support staff in a new state-of-the-art facility in the Brisbane
Innovation Park, adjacent to Griffith University's Nathan campus.
Griffith is an innovative university committed to multidisciplinary
teaching and research, and the creation and communication of knowledge.
It has five campuses in three cities across the Brisbane-Gold Coast
corridor. With more than 37000 students and 3500 staff, it is one of
Queensland's largest universities. www.griffith.edu.au/centre/eskitis.



For more information contact:

Jaya Banerji, Communications Manager MMV

banerjij@mmv.org <mailto:banerjij@mmv.org> ; Mobile: 41 79 707 7181