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Progesterone can benefit women with catamenial seizures: Study

April 26, 2017

Tools to facilitate implementation of and access to the new treatment include a Demand Forecast, a Procurement Guide, and a Tool Box providing training and educational materials for doctors, other health professionals, mothers, and caregivers regarding appropriate use of the treatment.

In 2008, DNDi and LAFEPE entered a joint development agreement for this dosage form. The new tablet will be produced by LAFEPE, a public pharmaceutical manufacturer run by the State of Pernambuco in Brazil and the sole global producer of benznidazole.

'We will exert all efforts, regarding commercial aspects, towards rapid patient access of this drug', says Luciano Vasquez, President of LAFEPE. 'It will be offered at cost to all public health institutions, including the Ministry of Health of Brazil.' Indeed, the paediatric dosage form will also be made available at cost to non-governmental organizations and philanthropic institutions.

The new paediatric dosage form has been granted registration from Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), and DNDi is collaborating with LAFEPE to make the drug widely available, notably by working to register the drug in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Paraguay - priority countries where Chagas disease prevalence is high and treatment is urgently needed.

'At a time when efforts are being made to secure production of benznidazole, we must ensure that this new product is made available in all endemic areas and that treatment of children is rapidly expanded, in addition to the treatment of adults', says Dr Bernard P-coul, Executive Director of DNDi. 'With this new tablet, we can reach a turning point for the treatment of children infected with Chagas disease and we have to move rapidly to get the drug to them.'

Source: Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative