GARDP and Novartis Announce Partnership to Reduce Child Deaths From Drug-resistant Infections

BASEL, Switzerland and GENEVA, September 27, 2018 /3BL Media/ – The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) and Novartis are joining forces to accelerate the development and availability of generic antibiotic treatments for children in low- and middle-income countries.

The strategic partnership responds to the call from the World Health Organization for affordable, improved and adapted antibiotic formulations and regimens for this vulnerable population, for which treatment options are limited. The agreement will leverage knowledge and expertise sharing between Sandoz, the Novartis generics division, and GARDP to drive incremental product innovation. It will also leverage the know-how and partner network of Novartis Social Business in areas such as supply chain, capacity building, and measurement and evaluation to improve availability of medicines, in particular in remote and underserved areas. 

Significant progress has been made in recent years to improve child health globally, including a 50 percent reduction in child mortality since 1990. However, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major barrier to further reducing childhood mortality. Infectious diseases, including serious bacterial infections such as pneumonia and sepsis, are a leading cause of child morbidity and mortality with more than three million deaths reported in 2013, nearly two million of which occur in sub-Saharan Africa.¹ The estimated 214,000 deaths of newborns each year due to drug-resistant infections pose a great concern.²

“Children are not small adults and require treatments that are adapted in terms of regimen, dose and formulation. However, challenges around conducting clinical trials in children have led to lack of evidence-based treatments available for them. And lack of evidence hinders the development of treatment guidelines for their care,” said Dr Manica Balasegaram, Director of GARDP. “This partnership not only has the potential to reduce the number of preventable deaths in children, but also to help tackle AMR through addressing the over-use and misuse of antibiotics.”

The two groups plan to improve and adapt existing generic antibiotic formulations and dosing regimens for newborns and children. In particular, they plan to develop heat-stable pediatric formulations against diseases that represent the leading causes of death in under-fives in lower-income countries. This work will also help determine future collaboration opportunities between both organizations. 

“New treatment formulations are needed to address the unmet needs of children in lower-income countries,” said Harald Nusser, Global Head of Novartis Social Business. “Yet, medicines by themselves are not sufficient; they also need to be affordable and accessible for patients. A very important part of our role will therefore be to work with partners on the ground to ensure these medicines reach patients, and in particular those living in remote and underserved areas.” 

In addition to improving and adapting generic antibiotics, both organizations are committed to embedding access and stewardship measures on the appropriate use of antibiotics, limitation of indications, and clearly defined distribution channels to ensure that children living in resource-constrained environments receive the antibiotics they need.

Notes to editors

About GARDP
GARDP is a not-for-profit research and development organization that addresses global public health needs by developing and delivering new or improved antibiotic treatments, while endeavouring to ensure their sustainable access. Initiated by the WHO and the Drugs for Neglected Disease initiative (DNDi), GARDP is an important element of WHO’s Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance that calls for new public-private partnerships to encourage research and development of new antimicrobial agents and diagnostics. GARDP is incubated by DNDi, which currently provides GARDP’s governance. www.gardp.org

About Novartis, Sandoz and Novartis Social Business
Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas.

Sandoz is the Novartis generics division and the world’s largest provider of affordable, high-quality antibiotics. Sandoz is committed to driving practical, scalable solutions that deliver meaningful impact in the field of AMR. The total Sandoz portfolio includes approximately 1,000 molecules, covering all major therapeutic areas. In 2017, Sandoz products reached well over 500 million patients.

Operationally managed by Sandoz, Novartis Social Business offers commercial solutions to support public health needs and increase patient reach in lower-income countries. The unit includes Novartis Access, the Novartis Malaria Initiative, the Novartis Healthy Family programs, SMS for Life, and Sandoz NGO Supply. In 2017, Novartis Social Business provided more than 30 million medicines against infectious and chronic diseases, and reached over 7.5 million people with health education. socialbusiness.novartis.com

References

1. Liu, L. et al. (2015). Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2000–13, with projections to inform post-2015 priorities: an updated systematic analysis. The Lancet; 385: 430–40.
2. Laxminarayan, R. et al.  (2016). Antimicrobials: access and sustainable effectiveness 1. Access to effective antimicrobials: a worldwide challenge. The Lancet: 387; 168-75.

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