Preventable diseases continue to be a significant cause of death in developing nations, despite ongoing efforts to combat them. Frequently, these diseases spread due to poor living conditions rather than a lack of available treatments, often resulting from factors such as unsafe drinking water or inadequate sanitation. While treatments for many of these diseases do exist, there are several existing challenges. Some treatments are prohibitively expensive for low-income countries, many struggle with distribution due to poor infrastructure, and others have adverse side effects.

Developing medications and improving infrastructure in low-income countries have not been top priorities for many pharmaceutical companies because of limited profit margins. Nevertheless, there have been notable advancements in pharmaceutical innovations that are now benefiting developing nations. These innovations show promise in addressing these health challenges.

3 Pharma Innovations Benefiting Developing Countries

1. A Chagas Disease Treatment for Children: Chagas disease is an illness that a parasite causes. It comes from a family of insects known as kissing bugs. The disease can cause damage to the nervous system and if left untreated, can cause heart failure that kills the patient. There are about 12,000 annual fatalities from Chagas disease worldwide, largely concentrated in South America. The disease is very treatable with proper diagnosis, and can even be cured, though internal damage cannot be reversed. However, for a long time, the most common drug used to treat Chagas disease was only for adults, meaning that children who contracted the disease needed to have the medication adapted to them, sometimes resulting in incorrect dosing which could be a barrier to treatment. In 2011, child-dosed tablets of benznidazole were created by a coalition of organizations, and currently are patented in Brazil and Argentina, allowing parents to more easily treat their children for this disease.
2. A Cheap, Safe Cure for Hepatitis C: Though it is extremely common, most people with Hepatitis C do not have access to treatment. This leads to 800 people passing away from complications from Hepatitis C every single day. The disease is curable, but the lack of access to proper treatments in low-income countries makes it a prolific killer; the best way to treat it is with a therapy of combined drugs, which has been previously too expensive for many in impoverished countries to obtain. Scientists at Presidio created a hybrid treatment of the drugs ravidasvir and sofosbuvir, a pharma innovation that was able to completely cure Hepatitis C in 97% of patients. This treatment routine is effective, affordable and has already saved lives.
3. A Cure For River Blindness: Affecting mostly West and Central Africa, a parasite causes river blindness, which can infect people as they go to a local river to retrieve water, and has infected 19 million people globally. The disease causes skin damage and blindness if left untreated — about 1.15 million people suffer from vision loss caused by river blindness. Though treatments currently exist, they are only able to target hatchling parasites within the human body, not adults, and thus can only control the disease rather than cure it entirely. In a historic pharma innovation, Bayer has been able to create a tablet-form medication that can kill adult worms in the human body, leading to a real cure for river blindness. Clinical trials have shown promise, and the medication will be revolutionary once available. All of these pharma innovations emerged in cooperation with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, which aims to distribute real cures among low-income countries. The development of accessible pharmaceuticals and pharma innovations have significantly improved the health of impoverished countries, as child life expectancy has improved rapidly even among the poorest families. Some studies estimate that one can attribute 74% of the decline in premature mortality to technological improvements and advancements in medicine. Investing in health has promised a brighter future for impoverished countries, one where preventable diseases can no longer steal millions of lives.

– Cheyenne Astarita
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