WHO Names Drugs For ‘Neglected’ Diseases To Essential Medicines List

“A 10-year-old program to develop drugs for ‘neglected’ diseases scored an important victory this month when three of its medicines were named essential drugs by the [WHO],” the New York Times reports. “The medicines that made the list are for three lethal insect-borne diseases: malaria, Chagas and sleeping sickness,” the newspaper notes, adding, “They exemplify how complicated it can be to develop a new drug with a low profit margin.” According to the newspaper, Nathalie Strub Wourgaft, medical director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, said a drug’s acceptance on the list “indicates that it’s a priority treatment for a priority disease.” She added, “This validates the credibility of what we and our partners have been doing,” the New York Times notes (McNeil, 7/15).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.