Drug companies to fight neglected diseases

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Officials at U.S. drug companies and non-profit organizations say they plan to develop new drugs for "neglected" diseases.

The search for drugs to fight hard-to-treat diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and dengue fever had been largely abandoned a decade ago but concern about rapidly rising rates for the diseases has caused an about-face.

An article published in Chemical & Engineering News describes how public-private partnerships among drug companies, non-profits and philanthropists are attempting to address the problems involved not only in producing drugs to treat the diseases but their distribution.

Challenges include who will pay for the drugs and how the drugs will be transported. The article reports the drug companies can expect to profit little from these ventures.

However, a growing number of companies now see it as good business and are excited about a steady stream of new drug candidates, the article notes.