MMV brings new partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals on board
MMV has formed a new collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen) and Johnson & Johnson Global Public Health to help develop better medicines to treat and protect vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women, from malaria.
The partnership will focus on the development of new medicines suitable for reduced-dosing regimens. Simpler regimens facilitate adherence to treatments and ensure they remain effective. One of the ways to do this is to formulate the medicine in such a way that it releases slowly into the body. This enables it to be active over a longer period of time. Janssen is an expert in long-acting injectable formulation technology while MMV is an expert in malaria drug development. Through the partnership, this expertise will be combined for the good of people at risk of malaria.
The MMV/Janssen team will begin investigations with P218 – a compound with the potential to provide protection against malaria discovered through an MMV partnership with BIOTEC Thailand, Monash University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“Janssen has emerged as a leader in global public health R&D and equitable access to healthcare,” said Dr David Reddy, MMV’s CEO. “We are delighted to bring them on board as a partner. This strategic extension to include development of long-acting formulations in our portfolio is aligned with MMV’s new 5-year plan and will help ensure we have the tools to support our vision for the elimination and eradication of malaria in the years to come.”