European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership

4 DECEMBER 2006 BANGKOK -- A report by the world's leading international health organizations today calls for joint action to accelerate the development and licensing of a highly effective malaria vaccine.

The EU is leading a programme to accumulate €600 million for clinical trials in Africa that will conduct research and development on possible vaccines for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The programme, known as the Europe-Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), intends to link national clinical research programmes from across Europe with scientists working in developing countries, mostly in Africa, to develop new drugs. The EU said that the EDCTP hoped to pool the resources of EU member states, plus Norway, into one research programme, resulting in the largest clinical trials programme ever to have targeted Africa. The EU said the money would be used purely for research. Of the proposed €600 million, the European Commission has set aside €200 million from community funds, and a further €200 million will be drawn from the national clinical research projects of countries participating in the programme. Donors and public-private partnerships will provide the remaining €200 million. The EDCTP was launched in April 2002 but the initial activities, which will involve capacity building in undisclosed locations across Africa, are due to begin in October 2003. ( Source: IRIN 2 September2003).

The European Union Tuesday adopted a 400-million euro programme to combat diseases linked to grinding poverty worldwide such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The money, agreed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers, includes 74-million euros to promote reproductive and sexual health in developing countries. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos said the funds would make a real difference. They will help save thousands of lives by improving maternal health and by helping in the fight against poverty diseases in some of the world's poorest countries, he said. The EU is acting in support of United Nations goals to alleviate poverty and disease in the developing world. The goals include halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases by 2015, and cutting the mortality rate for mothers by three-quarters by the same year. The EU plans next week to adopt a regulation aimed at encouraging pharmaceutical giants to offer drugs combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis at reduced prices to the world's poorest countries. The accord has been held up by concerns among EU governments that the cheap drugs could be re-imported back into the EU, undercutting the profits of European pharmaceutical companies.(Source: SAPA-AFP, 20 May 2003)