Novartis anti-malaria program, drug cited

MANILA, Philippines - The groundbreaking medicine access program and innovative malaria treatment of research-based Swiss healthcare company Novartis recently received two prestigious awards.

Last Sept. 21, during the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Novartis Malaria Initiative was honored with the World Business and Development Award (WBDA) by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) in recognition of its contribution to the MDGs.

One week after accepting the WBDA, the Novartis malaria treatment artemether/lumefantrine was named the winner of the Prix Galien 2010 USA Award for “Best Pharmaceutical Product.”

“Novartis, as of June 2010, has delivered over 340 million of its anti-malarial treatments without profit, to more than 60 malaria-endemic countries for public sector use, making Novartis the leading pharmaceutical partner in the fight against malaria.

“Since the beginning of its Malaria Initiatives Program, Novartis has pioneered access to medicine in the developing world through an innovative not-for-profit distribution concept, coordination of best practice sharing workshops, development of new formulations and capacity building,” stated the WBDA citation.

By targeting malaria parasites with a fixed-dose combination of two differently acting antimalarials, artemether/lumefantrine “allows over 95 percent of treated patients to recover fast from this life-threatening disease,” the Prix Galien USA Awards Committee said.

Hosted by the UNDP, ICC and the IBLF, the biennial WBDA showcases the best practices of companies that apply their inclusive business expertise to the worldwide efforts to end poverty.

This year, the WBDA Committee received an unprecedented 172 nominations, representing a variety of business and commercial endeavors, and included business associations, NGOs and individual companies from more than 42 countries.

The Prix Galien Award is considered the pharmaceutical industry’s highest accolade, equivalent to the Nobel Prize.

It recognizes the technical, scientific and clinical research skills necessary to develop innovative medicine and devices.

“We are truly honored to receive these prestigious awards, which will further motivate us to continue our work in reducing the burden of malaria in the developing world,” said Eric van Oppens, country president and CEO of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.