MMV receives $115 million from Gates Foundation

from European Biotechnology Science & Industry News:

The Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) has received $115 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Geneva-based non-profit organisation is dedicated to tackling malaria worldwide, and to delivering affordable drugs to vulnerable populations. Stakeholders and contributors amongst others include the British National Institutes of Health, the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the United Kingdom Department for International Development and the British Wellcome Trust. The public-private partnership was established as a foundation in Switzerland in 1999. MMV is currently managing the largest-ever portfolio of over 50 antimalarial projects in collaboration with over 80 pharmaceutical, academic, and endemic-country partners in 44 countries. In collaboration with partners, MMV recently launched its first product - Coartem Dispersible, a paediatric formulation. Another MMV-supported product, Eurartesim, has been submitted to the EMEA for approval, and a third is being prepared for submission, while a further seven potential medicines are in clinical development. The portfolio of discovery projects includes 19 completely new classes of compounds. "With our partners, we have built a portfolio of more than 50 new projects", said Timothy Wells, CSO at MMV. "With the emergence of resistance to Artemisinin in Cambodia, it's clear that the ambitious goal of malaria eradication will require a wide range of new medicines. The new grant from the Gates Foundation will enable MMV to continue the development of the next generation of antimalarial medicines."

http://www.mmv.org/newsroom/press-releases/mmv-receives-115-million-gates-foundation