The international non-profit medical research organization “The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative” (DNDi) will receive the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation 2023 in an event chaired by Their Majesties the King and Queen and attended by of Their Royal Highnesses the Princess of Asturias and the Infanta Doña Sofía, next Friday, October 20 in Oviedo, Spain .
The award, the most prestigious in Spain, recognizes DNDi’s achievements in providing new, safe, effective, affordable and accessible treatments for some of the world’s most neglected diseases. Previous winners in the International Cooperation category include the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Red Cross, Amref Health Africa and GAVI: The Vaccine Alliance.
“More than a billion people from the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged populations - half of them children - suffer from a range of diseases that cause serious social stigma and millions of deaths each year. “They are diseases neglected by research, industry and commercial development,” the jury wrote to explain its decision.
“In their twenty years of history they have developed numerous treatments for these serious diseases. “Its strategy includes an ambitious plan to develop new medicines and treatments that will improve health and save millions of lives around the world,” he added.
Other winners of the 2023 Princess of Asturias Awards are Meryl Streep (Arts); Nuccio Ordine (Communication and Humanities); Hélène Carrère d’Encausse (Social Sciences); Eliud Kipchoge (Sports); Haruki Murakami (Literature); Jeffrey Gordon, E. Peter Greenberg, and Bonnie L. Bassler (Technical and Scientific Research); and Mary’s Meals (Concordia).
“We are deeply grateful for this award, which is a fantastic opportunity to give visibility to the millions of people who are neglected by public policy makers and commercial pharmaceutical research,” stated Dr. Luis Pizarro, Executive Director of DNDi .
DNDi was created 20 years ago when Doctors Without Borders used part of its Nobel Peace Prize funds as seed money to found DNDi , along with the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation of Brazil, the Medical Research Institute of Kenya, the Ministry of Health of Malaysia and the Pasteur Institute of France, with the participation of the WHO.
“In the last twenty years we have implemented twelve new treatments thanks to close collaborations with universities, industrial partners, national authorities and research institutes in the countries most affected by these diseases. For example, we are currently working on the development of new oral medications to combat sleeping sickness, which could open the door to the elimination of this deadly disease,” said Dr. Pizarro.
“We will continue to work together to offer the best science to the most neglected people, and we appreciate all the support that Spain gives us, a country that has played a fundamental role in the advancement of medical research in the field of neglected diseases. In particular, we thank its scientists, research institutes and funders, as Spain has been an essential ally in our research program on Chagas disease, a neglected disease endemic to Latin America that affects 6 million people worldwide. world and for which existing treatments are not satisfactory," he added.
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) is a non-profit Research and Development (R&D) entity working to create safe, effective, locally adapted and affordable treatments for patients. neglected, particularly for Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, hepatitis C and dengue.
The goal of DNDi is to enable equitable access to HCV treatment by developing and registering affordable, safe, and effective pangenotypic direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), and promoting the policies necessary to remove barriers to access to HCV treatment. AAD around the world.
