Collaborations aim to develop new drugs for neglected tropical diseases

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on 23 June heard promising news about collaborations to develop drugs to treat neglected tropical diseases.

The meeting brought together more than 200 scientists, researchers, academics, and global health leaders from Africa and abroad to consider new treatments for diseases such as visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), Chagas’ disease, and sleeping sickness.

The initiative said that better treatments are needed by millions of the world’s poorest people. Current treatments are often toxic, prohibitively expensive, or difficult to administer in countries with limited resources. Drug companies have little incentive to develop treatments for neglected diseases that mainly …