“They are ignored by pharmaceutical research because they are too poor”: the moving speech of a Chilean doctor in Spain

In 2003, in order to better channel aid towards certain little-studied diseases which mainly affect poor countries, the organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) decided to create a parallel institution to improve the development of drugs against these diseases.

So the nation Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) a non-profit organization whose main objective is to discover and develop treatments for diseases considered “forgotten” or neglected, and for others linked to poverty and underdevelopment.

It was established, in addition to the efforts of Doctors Without Borders, by the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Kenya Institute of Medical Research, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) of Brazil, the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, the Pasteur Institute (France). ) and the Special Program for Research and Training on Neglected Diseases of the World Health Organization.

Since 2022, its executive director has been the Chilean doctor Luis Pizarro, who thanks to this status, It was he who received the Princess of Asturias Prize for International Cooperation last Friday.

In a moving speech Pizarro was convinced that “a non-profit research and development model, based on patient needs, is possible “.

“In 2023, thanks to advances in science, Thanks to the work of our teams and partners and the attention they bring to us with this award, we can, together, put an end to neglected diseases. ” said Pizarro during the Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony which took place on Friday October 20 at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo, Spain.

The organization received the Princess of Asturias Prize for International Cooperation 2023 for having developed during its 20 years of history numerous “effective, accessible and affordable” medicines for diseases that cause “serious social stigma and millions deaths per year.

In his speech, he said that millions of people – neglected, forgotten, invisible – are affected by often fatal diseases for which no medicine can cure them. “They are simply too poor for their illnesses to attract interest on this side of the world. »

“Actually, look at Covid-19. The pandemic has shown us what feats science can achieve with a little political will. Vaccines were invented in less than a year for a disease that didn’t even exist years ago “he added.

“However, millions of people – neglected, forgotten, invisible – are affected by often fatal diseases for which no medicine can cure them. “They are simply too poor for their illnesses to attract interest on this side of the world. »

Pizarro told the story of Amasi, a young Sudanese girl of 18 years old, infected with mycetoma , a tissue-destroying disease that many children in his village contract from walking barefoot on infected thorns. Amputation is usually the only solution. “Amasi was in a wheelchair and did not respond well to medication, and today we have not heard from her,” he said.

“Or think of Bimal, an Indian worker living with HIV and a disease called leishmaniasis. In Spain we know the disease because it affects dogs, but in many countries it affects humans. Bimal can no longer work because of his illness, which has plunged his family into poverty and forced his 14-year-old son to leave school to find a job to feed his parents and siblings,” he added in his speech.

He said that these These are just two examples of diseases that kill and disfigure, and it devastates not only those who fall ill, but also their communities and loved ones.

“The only reason the people we serve are deprived of the fruits of medical innovation is because they were born in the wrong place,” the doctor concluded.

According to the organization’s data, one in five people in the world (including 500 million children) suffers from at least one neglected disease.

Its low incidence compared to other types of diseases means that developing drugs or treatments for these diseases is not profitable in economic terms.

DNDi’s strategy is based to solve the problem through collaborations with actors involved in the health sector which enable the creation of treatments for these diseases and access it affordably.

With pharmaceutical companies, it creates drug research, development and distribution projects; accepts projects for co-sponsorship of clinical studies and joint work with ministries of health and public institutions; and collaborates with knowledge and research centers around the world (universities, institutes, etc.) to reach affected communities and patients, whose participation is essential to reach the so-called “last meter” of the process .