TOKYO – A new initiative in Japan aims to bring together the research resources of multiple stakeholders, including a handful of multinational biotech companies, to bear on the fight against some insidious neglected diseases.

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) recently announced a plan to work with pharmaceutical companies to accelerate the discovery of new drugs and lower the cost of developing new treatments for leishmaniasis and Chagas. The companies involved in the initiative are Japan's Eisai Co., Shionogi & Co. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Ltd., along with London-headquartered Astrazeneca plc.

"Given Japan's proven pharmaceutical strengths, it makes sense for DNDi to partner with a number of leaders in the field, and to make full use of the expertise and experience of these world-class enterprises," said Hugh Ashton, a Japan-based industry watcher.

The companies will give DNDi access to millions of unique compounds in their research libraries to search out new treatment leads using the Drug Discovery Booster program. The approach of using libraries from several companies and state of the art technology to pinpoint compounds with potential for further testing is relatively new, according to the DNDi.

"This could be a game-changing milestone in the fight against diseases that destroy the health and livelihoods of the world's poorest," said BT Singsby, CEO of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund).

A key hurdle in identifying new approaches to treat neglected diseases is the high cost of the initial stages of drug discovery. The process can be both expensive and time consuming.

"It is an experimental approach to radically modernize drug development for neglected diseases, which is the result of a decade of growing partnerships with pharmaceutical companies," said DNDi Executive Director Bernard Pecoul. "This experiment could significantly reduce the time and money it takes to find new promising treatment leads."

In the past DNDi had worked bilaterally with a number of pharma partners, looking for and then testing compounds.

This multicollaboration with a number of partners has the potential to cut two years from the early drug discovery process that normally takes five years or more. It could also significantly lower the cost of research.

"Based on our strong partnership with DNDi, Shionogi is leveraging its experience and strengths in the infectious disease field to deliver new drugs to patients struggling against leishmaniasis and Chagas disease as soon as possible," said Isao Teshirogi, president and CEO of Shionogi.

Diseases in the leishmaniasis family are caused by protozoan parasites from more than 20 species of Leishmania parasite, transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female phlebotomine sandflies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is known as one of the oldest diseases of humanity; however, it is not one that is easily identified because it is often confused with other diseases like malaria, although its etiologic agent was identified in 1903.

Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Chagas can manifest itself as a sudden and brief acute illness or as a long-lasting chronic condition with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. The Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas discovered the disease in 1909. Even after a century, there are just two compounds typically used to treat the disease. If left untreated, the infection persists and, in some cases, advances to the chronic phase.

About 6 million to 7 million people are infected worldwide, mostly in Latin America, though it is spreading to other areas. It is mostly vector-borne, transmitted to humans by contact with feces of triatomine bugs, known as "kissing bugs," among other names. Antiparastic treatment can prevent or stop the disease from progressing.

Controlling the diseases and blood screening are important to prevent infection through transfusions and organ transplantation.

DNDi was founded in 2003 and brings together academic, medical, public health and pharmaceutical stakeholders to find ways to tackle neglected diseases.

DNDi has introduced four new treatments, including two for drug-resistant malaria that have reached 80 million people, the first new treatment in 25 years for the advanced stage of sleeping sickness and a new combination therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in Africa.