WWARN and Sanofi agree data sharing collaboration

January 19 2012, Oxford: The WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) today announces that Sanofi has agreed to  contribute data to WWARN’s central database of information relating to antimalarial drug resistance, underlining their commitment to the  global fight against malaria.

Malaria remains a major public health burden, affecting mostly children under 5 years of age. Although mortality rates have fallen by more than 25% since 2000, these gains are now threatened by emerging resistance to the globally-recommended, artemisinin combination therapies in areas along the Thai-Myanmar and Thai-Cambodian borders. 

“Overcoming this danger will require the active participation of all global players including scientists, governments, funders, public health agencies and, crucially, the pharmaceutical industry,” comments Dr Philippe Guérin, Executive Director of WWARN. “A single organization cannot possibly hold or discover the ultimate solution. Sharing information is a vital component.” 

WWARN has established a database that transforms different types and formats of clinical and laboratory data into standard formats. These are then combined to produce a global picture of antimalarial treatment efficacy. 

Dr Robert Sebbag, Vice President Access to Medicines – Sanofi notes, “Given the challenges the world faces in the fight against malaria, we continually advocate for the pharmaceutical industry to be considered as a full partner in this endeavour. This collaborative agreement with WWARN is a demonstration of our ongoing commitment to act as a responsible partner in health.”

Dr Guerin concludes, “Through this agreement, Sanofi demonstrates a continuing commitment to reducing the risk of drug resistance development. Sharing data from its well-conducted clinical study programme with the WWARN project will allow the malaria community to better understand patients’ responses to antimalarials, and provide valuable information to identify additional hot spots of emerging resistance.”

ENDS