OPBIO Factory Co., Ltd. (OPBIO) (Uruma, Okinawa, Japan) has signed a research agreement with the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance, NY, USA). The research program involves the discovery of candidate compounds for tuberculosis (TB) drug in partnership with TB Alliance.
Tuberculosis (TB) caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), TB is second only to HIV/AIDS as the greatest infectious killer worldwide. In 2013, nine million people fell ill with TB and 1.5 million died from the disease. There have been advances in the fight against TB worldwide, with WHO report of TB incidence falling at an average rate of about 1.5% per year between 2000 and 2013. However, the surge in drug-resistant strains and synergy with HIV/AIDS especially in developing countries still demands for new TB regimens to win the war against the disease.
In this research program, OPBIO will search for lead or lead candidate compounds for TB drugs from its marine natural products extract libraries. According to Akihiko Kanamoto, CEO of OPBIO, this project is in alignment with the company's mission to find candidate compounds from marine natural products to develop innovative drugs and contribute to global health.
A part of the budget of the program will be aided by the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund). The GHIT Fund is an international non-government organization (NGO) promoting drug discovery from Japan with the aim to control infectious diseases epidemic especially in developing countries, such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
■Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance)
TB Alliance is a non-profit drug development partnership established in 2000 following the Cape Town Declaration. Its donor base is composed of private foundations and enterprises, governments, multilateral donors and individuals. A few examples are Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United States Food and Drug Administration, European Commission, UK Aid and Australian Aid. The partnership comprehensively leads the development of tuberculosis drug candidates, and plays an important role in the area, in collaboration with public organizations and private companies around the world.
For more details of the TB Alliance, visit http://www.tballiance.org/
■Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund)
GHIT Fund is the world's first product development fund for global health R&D, a public-private partnership that brings Japanese research and development (R&D) to the global fight against infectious diseases. GHIT Fund was jointly established in April 2013 by the Japanese government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare), a consortium of Japanese pharmaceutical companies, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its aim is to control infectious diseases epidemic in developing countries, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and neglected topical diseases (NTD). It facilitates international research collaborations on drug development between Japanese and non-Japanese entities through investments in product development partnerships.
For more details of the GHIT Fund, visit http://www.ghitfund.org
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OPBIO Factory Co., Ltd.
TEL +81-98-989-8744 FAX +81-98-989-8745