EU teams up with developing countries to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis

Summary: August 29, 2002: EU teams up with developing countries to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (Brussels)

The European Commission has proposed to support a long-term partnership between Europe and developing countries by providing €200 million for the development of new medicines and vaccines against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. This European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) brings together EU Member States plus Norway, developing countries and industry in a joint effort to combat poverty-linked diseases.

EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin said: "This important initiative shows our commitment to help developing countries combat these diseases by working together to develop vaccines against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and to make treatment cheaper as well as adapt it to the needs of the poorest countries. The Commission's proposal is the result of thorough consultations between all stakeholders involved." It is the first step to bring the €600 million EDCTP programme from concept to reality. It is also a pilot project in the sense that for the first time the Commission has taken the initiative of bringing together in the pursuit of a common objective clinical research activities and programmes of several Member States. The initiative is thus a perfect example of the functioning of the European Research Area. The proposal will be presented at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

To adequately furnish the EDCTP programme with the necessary financial means, the European Commission has now proposed to contribute €200 million of Community funds towards the €600 million required for the total financial volume of the programme. Further €200 million worth of activities stem from participating countries' national clinical research programmes that are brought together under a common objective. The remaining €200 million will be acquired from other donors and industry. This initiative by the EU and participating European countries will allow for the rapid launching of a first set of urgent measures, once European Parliament and Council have given their green light.

The vicious circle of disease and poverty causes a fundamental public health and economic crisis in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) alone account for more than five million deaths every year, 95% of these in the developing world. To respond to this emergency, the Commission launched already in 2001 its "Programme for Action", based on three pillars: impact, affordability and research & development. The Programme for Action aims at combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis with the emphasis on poverty reduction. The EDCTP is a response for more and better research and development activities to fight the three diseases.

To be successful, such a partnership initiative must evolve under the guidance of developing countries as the drivers of the real needs. Therefore, the EDCTP initiative has ensured that African clinicians and health system representatives took already part in this initiative at its very early stages, enabling them to assume a leading role in its further development. Similarly, to encompass the essential expertise that only industry can provide with respect to the clinical development of new drugs and vaccines, the European pharmaceutical industry is about to set up an "Industry Forum" as the EDCTP's industrial focal point.

In practical terms, the EDCTP programme foresees:

central European and African management facilities
measures for improved networking of European clinical research programmes and for global advocacy
support for clinical research capacities in developing countries
a training scheme for local researchers and clinicians that will strengthen the locally available human resources to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the EDCTP programme
and, as its core mandate, support for prioritised clinical trials of new drugs and vaccine candidates that urgently await clinical testing.

The present initiative, in line with the idea of a European Research Area, is perfectly integrated within the activities of the 6th Framework Programme and represents the first attempt of a joined research programme between the European Union, Member States and associated countries.

EU Member States and Norway will invest at national level more than €1 billion for the years 2002-2007 in biomedical research to develop new clinical means to cure or prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. However, while important new research results are obtained, they are not immediately put to use for the development of new health improved tools that can be applied in developing countries. More concretely, new medicines or vaccines emerging from clinical research may prove highly promising in preliminary small-scale clinical trials but may not be developed further into market products in the absence of sufficient funds and/or facilities for the necessary large-scale trials. Such large-scale trials have to be conducted in the diseases-endemic countries under local clinical and social conditions, in order to obtain relevant results that benefit needy populations.

To address and overcome this problem, the European Commission together with its partners has taken stock of the relevant national activities and has developed a strategic concept for a "European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership" (EDCTP). The Commission proposes to make practical use for the first time of the Article 169 of the EC Treaty to allow participation of the Community in Member States' national research and development programmes.

For more information on EDCTP:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/edctp.html

Ref: EC02-176EN
EU source: European Commission
UN forum:
Date: 29/8/2002

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