Healthcare and Science thomsonreuters.com

The Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH) works to find solutions to gaps in treatments for neglected diseases. We currently have programs for developing or improving therapies for visceral leishmaniasis, malaria and diarrheal diseases. 

IOWH employees come from diverse backgrounds, including folks from academia, the biopharmaceutical industry and public health sector. Folks who come to iOWH have a passion for making a difference in the lives of those in the developing world. In addition to having full time employees iOWH utilizes numerous volunteers and consultants who have additional areas of expertise required for our success.We also depend on boards of external advisors. The Diarrheal Diseases Program, for example, has a scientific advisory board which helps us with the nuts and bolts of drug development and a clinical advisory board that advises us on trends, gaps and new opportunities for the treatment of diarrheal diseases.

The latest statistics show that 1.6 million children a year die from diarrheal diseases. One of our projects is to develop a drug to treat the life-threatening fluid loss associated with cholera and other types of infectious diarrhea. OneWorld Health received a large grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop anti-diarrheal drugs.

Many ideas and proposals come to us from both academics and start up companies. It is often a compound that is in the lab or preclinical stages. One of the first things we do is find out what is known about this drug and for this we use the Thomson Reuters database - Thomson Pharma.  

The visceral leishmaniasis (VL) program is considered our biggest success to date. iOWH conducted clinical trials for the drug Paromomycin IM which ultimately led to the drug gaining approval from the Government of India, and being added to the World Health Organisation's Essential Medicines List. Half a million people a year are afflicted by this disease, and without treatment death is almost a certainty. 

OneWorld Health also has an access program. This program studies issues around access to and delivery of drugs to combat VL in vulnerable populations in India and other countries where the disease is prevalent. iOWH developed the drug Paromomycin IM Injection to treat VL, and getting the treatment to those who need it has been a massive undertaking. One way we work to enhance the impact of the drug and assist in preventing deaths is by promoting education about the disease and its symptoms - many people don't know they have VL and they may go into debt paying for treatment for diseases that they don't even have. Not only have we developed a new treatment for this disease, but we also worked to overcome logistical barriers, as well as working with local and national governments. One cannot underestimate the importance of drug distribution and access issues. It's that "last mile" of actually getting the drugs to patients that is sometimes the most difficult.

We have partnered with companies of all sizes, with varying levels of support. We might just need a conference call, they might give us access to their libraries, or it might be a fully fledged drug development program. Thomson Reuters is one of those partners - they give us access to essential information. We do routine searches to see what is known or pending about a drug or drug candidate, and always check on the intellectual property status of the drug. We've been using it for a year and a half and it's been extremely useful.