The October 1999 edition of TDR Newsletter is on the web
        http://www.who.int/tdr/
        under "news"

Herewith an article we wish to share by email.

                Jocelyne Bruyere
                TDR Communications
---

MMV COMES OF AGE
****************

The Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a partnership established between
a number of public sector agencies and the pharmaceutical industry and
which has been incubated within TDR over the past two years, will soon be
established as an independent not-for-profit foundation. It will however
still operate from Geneva in close proximity to WHO and TDR. This course
of action has been agreed by MMV's major donors and was given an
endorsement and final seal of approval at a meeting of the WHO Cabinet
under Dr B rundtland in August. WHO will remain fully engaged as a partner
in the venture through membership of MMV's Governing Board. The process of
establishing MMV is a clear example of how the new WHO and TDR can act as
catalysts to initiate substantive new activities in partnership with other
organizations.

MMV will operate under the paradigm of a not-for-profit business. Its goal
is to develop and manage a portfolio of malaria drug discovery and
development projects that will yield one new product every five years.
These products will be targeted for appropriate and affordable use in
disease endemic countries. It is estimated this R&D effort will require
$30 million per year in cash, combined with gifts in kind and other
resources and expertise from industrial partners. Funding will be focused
on a limited nu mber of projects, but at a level (up to several million
dollars per project per year) adequate to get the job done. The projects
will involve pharmaceutical companies operating in partnership with
academic groups and public sector agencies. Products generated through
these collaborations will be licensed out to companies for production and
commercialization.

MMV currently has funding of $5 million per year over the next few years
and has completed its first round of project selection. Several drug
discovery projects have been identified for full funding, each with a
major pharmaceutical company as a partner. At one stroke this massively
increases the level of pharmaceutical industry R&D in malaria. It is
anticipated that, with the establishment of MMV as an independent
operation in its own right and the demonstrated commitment of the
pharmaceutical industry to this process, further funding can be obtained.
With this achieved, MMV will have every opportunity of achieving its
ultimate goal of registering and commercializing one new antimalarial
product every five years and assisting in the global efforts of
sustainably reducing the malaria disease burden.

--