Date: 2011-03-03
Type of information: Collaboration agreement
Compound: Lampit® tablets (nifurtimox)
Company: Bayer HealthCare(Germany) WHO (World Health Organization)
Therapeutic area: Infectious diseases - Parasitic diseases
Type agreement: collaboration
Action mechanism: Trypanocidal agent. This agent is able to form a nitro-anion radical metabolite, which reacts with the nucleic acids of the parasite, causing a significant breakage in the DNA. The other mechanism involves the production of superoxide anions, and hence, hydrogen peroxide (both of which are very toxic to the parasite) and inhibition of trypanothione reductase, which is a parasite-specific antioxidant defense enzyme. Another enzyme, ascorbate-linked peroxidase, is also present but at relatively low levels in the organism. Lack of these enzymes leads to the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide to cytotoxic levels, resulting in death of the parasite.
Disease: Chagas disease
Details: Bayer HealthCare has signed an extension of its agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to fight Chagas disease, a deadly and neglected tropical disease (NTD). The five-year extension will come into effect in April 2012, when the previous agreement signed in 2007 had been set to expire. Bayer HealthCare has also committed to doubling its initial donation of 2.5 million Lampit® tablets (active ingredient: nifurtimox) for the treatment of Chagas disease to a total of 5 million by 2017. In addition, the company will contribute $ 1.5 million in cash to fund logistics and distribution.
Financial terms:
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