British Drugmaker Funds Research On Chronic Disease In Africa
One of the world's largest drugmakers says it will invest more than $200 million in Africa over the next five years in a push for better treatment of noncommunicable diseases there.
GlaxoSmithKline said the funding would be focused on sub-Saharan Africa, where the company already employs about 1,500 people and operates three factories. The money would go toward building five more factories and funding of research and development focused on the region.
A centerpiece of the expansion is a new lab focused on noncommunicable illnesses in Africa based at a company research center in Stevenage, England, north of London.
The British hub will help researchers from Africa and elsewhere collaborate with each other and with Glaxo scientists on projects involving noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.
Andrew Witty, CEO of Glaxo tells Shots, that the lab may be the most valuable part of the project in the long run. "It's really the first time that I think anybody is really moving the whole focus on African disease on from infectious disease into noncommunicable diseases," Witty says.
Why the shift? As one looks at the leading-edge countries in Africa, Witty says, there's evidence of widespread vaccination and the beginning of good management of HIV.
"We're starting to see some sense of control over the infectious disease burden which has always existed in Africa and dominated," he says. "What you then start to see is other diseases, which have essentially been hidden, if you will, by the cloud of infectious disease, come more to the surface."
Shots - Health News
Chronic Illnesses Outpace Infections As Big Killers Worldwide