Dutch Development Agency Renews TB Alliance Funding with EUR 2 Million Grant.

NEW YORK & AMSTERDAM -- The Department of Development Cooperation of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS), the leading Dutch government agency for foreign assistance, recently awarded a grant of 2 million euros to the TB Alliance, a non-profit drug development endeavor leading global efforts to develop faster-acting and affordable new tuberculosis (TB) drugs. TB kills someone every 15 seconds worldwide and is on the rise in Europe, particularly the spread of multi-drug resistant strains.

"By maintaining its support for the TB Alliance, the Dutch Government reaffirms its commitment for the Millennium Development Goals and the necessity of faster-acting TB treatments to help reverse the incidence of disease," said Dr. Harry van Schooten, Senior Health Adviser for DGIS. "Since TB is often the first manifestation of AIDS in many HIV+ persons in developing countries, the development of a faster TB cure will also have a positive impact on AIDS control as well as improve health and prosperity worldwide."

"Thanks to the early support of the Dutch government, the TB Alliance has already built and advanced a robust portfolio of promising TB compounds," said Dr. Maria C. Freire, President and Chief Executive Officer of the TB Alliance. "Now, with this second installment, we will be able to expand the pipeline further and move the best candidates into clinical trials so that the world can benefit from a new, better TB cure."

This award comes after the Dutch government concluded its presidency of the European Union (EU) in December and after it commissioned the Report "Priority Medicines for Europe and the World," for the World Health Organization. Issued in December 2004, the report identifies the global health gaps due to market failures and the lack of ongoing pharmaceutical innovation for neglected diseases. The report recommends increased European investments in research and development for diseases like tuberculosis through public-private partnerships such as the TB Alliance.

"This is also a win-win partnership -- the Dutch government has created a strong track record in supporting innovative global health solutions, and the TB Alliance shown its tremendous progress in creating and advancing the TB drug pipeline," said Dr. Gijs Elzinga, Deputy Director-General, Netherlands' National Institute of Public Health and the Environment RIVM and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the TB Alliance.

This grant comes as several promising compounds approach clinical trials and will help to support the continuous efforts to invigorate the TB drug pipeline. The portfolio includes, among others, a program to advance novel nitroimidazoles, several projects in the fluoroquinolone class of compounds, and earlier discovery projects based on new targets. The funds from DGIS will help ensure that the TB Alliance's achievements to date translate into faster-acting drugs for tuberculosis and help advance global health and prosperity.

The TB Alliance operates with public and philanthropic funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, the Netherlands Ministry for Cooperation Development, the National Institutes of Health and the Stop TB Partnership. The TB Alliance was created in 2000 by a global network of Stakeholder institutions, including the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, the European Commission and Medecins Sans Frontieres, which called for the urgent development of an affordable and improved TB treatment to reduce treatment duration from 6 months to 2 months or less.

About the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development

The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership accelerating the discovery and/or development of affordable, new anti-TB drugs that will shorten treatment, be effective against multi-drug resistant strains, and improve treatment of latent infection. The TB Alliance builds a portfolio of promising drug candidates, manages their development through cooperative deals with public and private partners, and provides staged funding and expert scientific and management guidance. Partners include the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in Singapore, the Korean Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), University of Illinois at Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD), and the Research Triangle Institute. For more information, visit http://www.tballiance.org.