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MARKET - INFECTIOUS DISEASES
The Need
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 300 million people are infected globally by parasitic diseases, which are responsible for an estimated 2.8 million deaths annually and cause great suffering and economic hardship to millions more. In addition, the combination of global warming and increased migration is beginning to bring these diseases to the developed world. For example, the American Red Cross recently reported that in 2006 it detected blood-born Chagas pathogens in one in every 3,800 blood donors in Los Angeles.
The parasitic diseases often affect livestock in addition to people. It is estimated that Trypanosomasis alone reduces the African economy by $5-10 billion each year, while Malaria’s impact has been estimated to be US$12 billion annually. This, in turn, affects local economies and leads to malnutrition and susceptibility to other illnesses and diseases, including HIV. Thus these tropical parasitic diseases take an enormous personal, social and economic toll and affect millions of individuals.
The Market
Current treatments of these diseases are often toxic, ineffective, inconvenient and expensive. The millions of individuals affected by these two diseases are increasingly infected with multiple drug resistant strains, highlighting the need for new therapies. Large pharmaceuticals, while interested in the market, are allocating little resources to developing new drugs. We believe that this presents a highly attractive opportunity and a more than $1-billion market demand on both the human and veterinarian level.
The Solution
We have identified both a need and a market demand for better treatment of parasitic diseases — both on a human and veterinarian level. We have taken a strategic approach in targeting these diseases — leveraging the evolutionary genetic similarities of the parasites that infect the human and animal hosts. These parasites, which belong to a family of protozoa species that includes malaria, leishmaniasis, chagas and trypanosomiasis, as well as giardia, trichomona, toxoplasmosis and several others, infects million of individuals in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Due to the genetic link, it is believed that commonalities and patterns can be found and leveraged in our approach for finding novel chemical treatments.
We are currently testing anti-parasitic drugs for both human and veterinarian use. The company believes it will be able to fast track the veterinarian drugs to the market to provide a potential revenue stream while clinical trials for human use are ongoing.
FDA PRIORITY REVIEW VOUCHERS
The RPM Report - July 2008, Vol. 3, No. 12
Treat and Trade: The New Priority Review Voucher Market
Starting in September, pharmaceutical companies will have the opportunity to buy the right to a faster FDA review. If it works, the priority review voucher program could revolutionize development of drugs for neglected diseases, while increasing the value of more traditional commercial products in the US. But sponsors are wary that the vouchers will pay off...
» Download entire report HERE
» See also "BioWorld Today" MARCH 13, 2008
Also these links:
» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_Review_Voucher
» http://blogs.cgdev.org/globalhealth/2007/10/fda_priority_review.php
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