Eli Lilly and Company today unveiled a global effort with the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and Purdue University to increase the number of trained personnel and drugs available to treat the expanding crisis of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
As part of this pioneering effort, Lilly will:
- Transfer its technology to manufacture two antibiotics necessary for treatment of MDR-TB to nations where the disease is most prevalent;
- Establish a Center of Excellence for the training of medical personnel in the treatment of MDR-TB to help prevent further spread of the disease;
- Lead an effort to establish a comprehensive surveillance program to monitor the development of resistance against the antibiotics used to treat MDR-TB;
- Invest in facilities improvements that will enable the company to double its current production of one of the essential drugs used to treat MDR-TB, and;
- Provide both Lilly antibiotics at a fraction of their cost to WHO Green Light Committee approved DOTS-Plus treatment programs around the world.
The company's total contribution to this effort is valued at $70 million (USD) through 2006.
Dr. Maria Freire said at the DC ceremony:
"Any one of these components alone is a significant contribution to the fight against MDR-TB. When these efforts are combined, as they are in this partnership, we can envision a true quantum leap forward in our response to a disease that has plagued us since time immemorial.
Moreover, the partnership has recognized the importance of laying the groundwork for the future. That groundwork, the investment in human capital and national infrastructure, will help enable the next quantum leap forward: the next generation of faster acting TB drugs."
Remarks at Eli Lilly MDR-TB Announcement
By Maria C. Freire, Ph.D.
CEO, Global Alliance for TB Drug Development
June 5, 2003
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. And, thank you, Dr. Lechleiter, for the kind introduction. It is, indeed, a pleasure to be here!
On behalf of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, I am honored and delighted to join you this morning for the launch of this innovative and exciting global partnership.
The partnership announced today addresses one of the most difficult problems in tuberculosis control - that of helping to cure patients who suffer from the type of TB that does not respond to standard treatment - multi-drug resistant or MDR-TB.
At the TB Alliance, we devote our efforts to the development of new, affordable and faster acting TB medicines. Hardly a day goes by when we do not hear of how this disease affects real people.
On April 22 this year, I got an e-mail from Korea whose subject line was simply: "Help."
It said: "I am MDR-TB... I live without hope, dignity and tomorrow. Is there any new medicine which can save me?"
It hit home. Reading that e-mail reinforced the validity and importance of the Alliance's mission: the development of new medicines against TB.
Nevertheless, as diligently as we work to achieve this goal, and believe me, we do, the reality is that it will take some time. Therefore, we can not afford to neglect the lives at stake as we speak.
So, I would like underscore how today's announcement brings hope to thousands of patients around the world, perhaps even to this Korean patient. The partnership can make a difference today as it sets out to deliver more second-line drugs more effectively.
Previous speakers have highlighted the core features of this agreement, let's review them: technology transfer, medical training, comprehensive surveillance, enhanced drug production and Lilly's commitment to provide its antibiotics at a fraction of cost.
Any one of these alone, is a significant contribution to the fight against MDR-TB. When these efforts are combined, as they are in this partnership, we can envision a true quantum leap forward to respond effectively to a public health emergency.
By training doctors to track drug-resistant strains more rapidly, we can better contain their spread. By empowering manufacturing in high-burden countries, we can lower costs and secure their involvement as equal partners in this global enterprise. By taking this holistic approach we can tap the technologies available today and make them more accessible.
Indeed, the partnership has recognized the importance of laying the groundwork for the future. This will enable the next quantum leap forward.
That groundwork, the investment in human capital and national infrastructure, will help us develop the next generation of faster acting TB drugs.
Today, one person dies every 15 seconds from tuberculosis and there are 400,000 new cases of MDR-TB each year. The magnitude of this epidemic is overwhelming; humbling, indeed. Therefore, we must re-double our efforts and create innovative mechanisms to address this terrible disease.
This morning, we have witnessed the birth of an important public-private partnership. We leave here with renewed hope that we will be able to round the corner and provide cure for the millions who suffer from this disease and comfort to those who mourn its victims.
We invite you to celebrate and join a growing circle of public and private institutions working together in partnership for global health.
Thank you.