CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and ABU DHABI, U.A.E., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), Genzyme Corp. (Nasdaq: GENZ), and
the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard announced today that they have
expanded their collaboration to discover and advance new therapeutic
candidates for malaria. The alliance will build on work begun earlier this
year and will enable the expansion of a drug discovery program focused on
identifying compounds that may offer a completely new approach to treating
malaria.
In addition to co-funding and co-managing this effort with Genzyme and
the Broad Institute, MMV will also work with the two partners to secure
additional resources to scale-up the program further. Currently, there are
four early discovery projects in this portfolio. All intellectual property
developed under this collaboration will be made available to MMV on a
royalty free basis for use in developing and distributing new drugs for the
treatment of malaria.
"We are very pleased to expand our support for what has already begun
to be a productive collaboration between one of the premier genomic
research institutions and one of the world's leading biotechnology
companies," said Dr. Chris Hentschel, president and CEO of MMV. "This
collaboration enhances our capacity to identify promising new antimalarial
compounds and explore completely novel approaches to treat this deadly
disease."
Today's announcement was made in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates,
following a presentation made by representatives of Genzyme and the Broad
Institute to MMV's board of directors and representatives of the Abu Dhabi
Bio City project. With the aim of making a significant impact on the
discovery and development of novel antimalarial agents, an innovative
malaria research center within the Bio City is being explored. Aspects of
the MMV-Genzyme-Broad collaboration could potentially be incorporated in
the work of this malaria research center.
"Genzyme is committed to participating in efforts to discover and
advance new drug candidates for malaria and other diseases affecting the
developing world," said James Geraghty, senior vice president for the
company and a leader of Genzyme's Humanitarian Assistance for Neglected
Diseases initiative. "We are committed to doing this work through
partnerships like the one we've formed with MMV and the Broad Institute
because they allow us to participate in a sustainable way that shareholders
can support. We hope this model may inspire others within the industry to
contribute their capabilities to neglected diseases."
Approximately 40 percent of the world's population -- mostly those
living in the poorest countries -- are at risk of malaria. There are an
estimated 300-600 million new clinical cases of malaria annually, directly
causing over one million deaths. Malaria kills one child every 30 seconds,
and many children who survive an episode of cerebral malaria suffer from
learning impairments or brain damage. Beyond the human toll, malaria has a
significant economic impact in endemic countries -- costing Africa US$12
billion in lost GDP every year and consuming 40 percent of all public
health spending.
"Malaria continues to devastate global health and new therapeutic
strategies are desperately needed to defeat the disease," said Professor
Dyann Wirth, the co-director of the Broad Institute's Infectious Disease
Initiative and chairman of the Department of Immunology and Infectious
Diseases at the Harvard School of Public Health. "In striving to meet this
important goal, we are grateful to the Medicines for Malaria Venture for
joining the collaborative work we have begun with our Genzyme colleagues."
Notes to Editors
Medicines for Malaria Venture
Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) is a non-profit organization
dedicated to reducing the burden of malaria in disease-endemic countries by
discovering, developing and delivering new affordable antimalarials through
effective public-private partnership. After six years of operation, MMV is
managing the largest-ever portfolio of malaria drug research with more than
20 projects in different stages of drug research and development including
five combination drugs already in human clinical trials.
Research and Development (R&D) supported by industry-style portfolio
and project management lies at the core of MMV's operations. Drug research
and development is carried out in the labs and clinics of MMV's partners.
Everyday around the world, more than 500 scientists, doctors, clinicians
are working against time to develop life-saving antimalarials. Today MMV
has over 80 R&D partners in 34 countries. Partner organizations in the
pharmaceutical industry, academic institutes and endemic-country research
centers contribute with staff, facilities know-how and technology. MMV's
Expert Scientific Advisory Committee, public sector collaborators,
academics, and board members donate their time and talents. Thanks to this
pooling of knowledge and resources, the costs of developing new malaria
treatments are significantly reduced, bringing the goal of effective
treatments for all one step closer to reality.
Genzyme Corporation
One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is
dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with
serious diseases. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Genzyme's
founding. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a
diversified enterprise with more than 8,500 employees in locations spanning
the globe and 2005 revenues of $2.7 billion. Genzyme has been selected by
FORTUNE as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for" in the United
States.
Through its Humanitarian Assistance for Neglected Diseases initiative,
Genzyme is participating in efforts to discover and advance novel
treatments for neglected diseases affecting the developing world. The
initiative serves as a vehicle to identify, evaluate and manage scientific
projects and partnerships focused on diseases that collectively affect
hundreds of millions of people. These could include malaria, tuberculosis,
leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, sleeping sickness and other diseases.
Genzyme is focusing on projects where it can play a defined role in the
process of moving potential new treatments from discovery toward clinical
testing. The company will not seek to profit from the commercialization of
any products it helps to develop. It will grant all commercial and
intellectual property rights in neglected disease areas to non-profit
partners. The HAND initiative complements existing Genzyme programs that
provide free medicines and help to build sustainable health care systems in
developing countries.
The Broad Institute
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was founded in 2003 to bring the
power of genomics to biomedicine. It pursues this mission by empowering
creative scientists to construct new and robust tools for genomic medicine,
to make them accessible to the global scientific community, and to apply
them to the understanding and treatment of disease. The Institute is a
research collaboration that involves faculty, professional staff and
students from throughout the MIT and Harvard academic and medical
communities, including the Harvard-affiliated hospitals and the Whitehead
Institute. It is jointly governed by the two universities.
The Broad Institute's Infectious Disease Initiative brings together a
scientific community focused on using genomic tools to understand the
mechanisms behind infectious diseases and to apply this knowledge to the
prevention and treatment of these diseases. The primary emphasis is on
malaria and tuberculosis, diseases that kill hundreds of millions of people
every year. Major areas of focus for malaria include comparative genome
analysis, population genetics of pathogen populations and chemical
screening. These efforts aim to create a map of malaria variation that is
suitable for mapping traits such as drug resistance and for tracing global
spread, and to identify compounds capable of blocking key aspects of the
malaria life cycle.
Contact
Anna Wang
Medicines For Malaria Venture
wanga@mmv.org
+41 79 204 2875
Bo Piela
Genzyme Corporation
bo.piela@genzyme.com
+1 617 768 6579
Nicole Davis
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
ndavis@broad.mit.edu
+1 617 258 0952
SOURCE Genzyme Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.genzyme.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/104284.html
CONTACT:
Anna Wang of Medicines For Malaria Venture,
+41 79 204 2875, wanga@mmv.org; or Bo Piela of Genzyme
Corporation, +1-617-768-6579, bo.piela@genzyme.com; or Nicole
Davis of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, +1-617-258-0952,
ndavis@broad.mit.edu
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