Discovery & Development Small Molecules, Facilities

A Doctor's Dream

A dramatic drug development story scoops top prize at WHO film festival

Stephanie Sutton | 07/15/2020 | Quick Read

This article is part of our special focus on "traditional" pharma: The Small Molecule Manufacturer (read more here). You can find more articles from The Small Manufacturer here.

“A doctor’s dream: A pill for sleeping sickness” by the Drugs for Neglected Disease Initiative (DNDi) was awarded the Grand Prix at the WHO’s inaugural “Health For All” Film Festival. The 7-minute film shows how Congolese doctors, non-profit DNDi, and drug giant Sanofi came together to develop the first oral treatment for sleeping sickness.

The drug, fexinidazole, was approved by the EMA in 2018 and is now on the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines. Previous drugs were delivered intravenously – difficult and expensive for resource-limited settings. Doctors hope that the availability of an oral drug could help eliminate the deadly disease.

DNDi received a $10,000 prize, which they will use to make more films highlighting the challenges of drug development for neglected diseases.

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Discovery & Development Small Molecules, Facilities

Stephanie Sutton

Making great scientific magazines isn’t just about delivering knowledge and high quality content; it’s also about packaging these in the right words to ensure that someone is truly inspired by a topic. My passion is ensuring that our authors’ expertise is presented as a seamless and enjoyable reading experience, whether in print, in digital or on social media. I’ve spent fourteen years writing and editing features for scientific and manufacturing publications, and in making this content engaging and accessible without sacrificing its scientific integrity. There is nothing better than a magazine with great content that feels great to read.