Press Releases

OneWorld Health Featured in BBC World Documentary

Award-Winning BBC World Series “Kill or Cure?” to focus on Medicine for Kala-Azar

SAN FRANCISCO, USA / NEW DELHI, INDIA - May 31, 2007

The Institute for OneWorld Health announced today that the story behind Paromomycin IM injection, its groundbreaking treatment for Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) will be featured on BBC World’s Kill or Cure? series on June 3. OneWorld Health is the first US-based non-profit pharmaceutical company that develops drugs for people with neglected diseases in the developing world.

The documentary, titled Kill or Cure? Visceral Leishmaniasis, will be previewed to members of the media on Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 5 pm at the 34th Annual International Conference on Global Health at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

“It is essential that the public and policy makers around the world know the story of how we developed a new formulation of an existing general use antibiotic, as a novel therapy for VL a lethal disease affecting the poorest of the poor,” said OneWorld Health’s James H. Hickman, Vice President, Communications & Fund Development. “Treatments accessible to poor and rural people are needed desperately for neglected diseases like visceral leishmaniasis. OneWorld Health’s social entrepreneurial model that developed it represents ‘proof of concept’ for a new pathway of drug development.”

The documentary revisits the story of 13-year-old Dilip, whom BBC World interviewed three years ago in his home state of Bihar in India. At that time, Dilip had been diagnosed with VL. If left untreated, VL is almost always fatal. With approximately 500,000 cases occurring annually VL, also known as kala-azar, is the world’s second most deadly parasitic disease following malaria. Many of these cases occur in Bihar state.

Dilip’s family agreed to try a new medicine to combat the disease -- Paromomycin IM Injection, for which the Institute for OneWorld Health was then conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial. On the basis of this clinical trial, Paromomycin IM Injection was found to be a safe and effective treatment for VL and in August 2006 was approved for treatment of VL by the Drug Controller General in India.

Returning in 2007, BBC World finds a thriving teenage Dilip, a healthy and avid cricket player. Through interviews with leading VL researchers, OneWorld Health partners, and the people who suffer from this deadly disease, the BBC World documentary chronicles the successful development of a new treatment, providing a novel and affordable tool in the fight against kala-azar in India.

"We first worked with Victoria Hale and her team in 2004, filming the launch of the paromomycin trials and a young, ailing kala-azar patient named Dilip, whose case seemed grim. It is immensely rewarding to return three years later to see the success of the trials, and find Dilip has grown into a strapping, cricket-playing young man,” says Anya Sitaram, Director of Rockhopper TV.

Kill or Cure? Visceral Leishmaniasis will broadcast on BBC World beginning Sunday, June 3. Below are the tentative air dates and times for recasts. Check the local BBC World listings to confirm air times.

• Sunday, June 3 at 6:30 am GMT and 5:30 pm GMT

• Monday, June 4 at 10:30 am GMT

• Tuesday, June 5 at 4:30 pm GMT

• Wednesday, June 6 at 2:30 am and 8:30am GMT

The Kill or Cure? series covers the hunt for effective and affordable treatments for populations earning less than a few dollars a day. It is one of the most watched shows on BBC World. Winner of awards at The Third Annual United Nations Documentary Film Festival and at BBC World’s “Best Documentary of the Year” ceremony, Kill or Cure? reaches an audience of 270 million homes, and each documentary goes out five to seven times in its week of transmission. Many of the programs are also broadcast on other cable and satellite television networks around the world. Kill or Cure? has recently covered avian flu, dengue, and the possibility of a TB vaccine for other segments of this series.

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About Visceral Leishmaniasis

VL is a systemic infection caused by various species of Leishmania parasites. The infection is transmitted by sandflies and causes chronic fever, weight loss, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and anemia. Left untreated, VL is nearly always fatal. VL currently occurs in 62 countries, primarily in the developing world. Of the approximately 500,000 new cases of VL occurring annually, 90% are found in just five countries: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil. The Indian subcontinent carries 70% of all estimated new VL cases per year worldwide, with India alone carrying 50% percent of all new cases. The most affected state in India is Bihar, but VL is also endemic in the states of Jharkand, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh.

About Paromomycin IM Injection

Paromomycin, an off-patent aminoglycoside antibiotic, is an established drug with an extensive and well-characterized safety profile. Paromomycin IM Injection is now available for the first time as a new treatment for VL as a once-a-day injection for 21 days. The cost of Paromomycin IM Injection is significantly lower than other currently approved VL therapies. Gland Pharma Limited, the Hyderabad, India-based drug manufacturer, working in collaboration with OneWorld Health, received regulatory approval from the Drug-Controller General - India (DCGI) for Paromomycin IM Injection as a treatment for VL on August 31, 2006

About Rockhopper TV

Rockhopper TV specializes in global health documentaries. Its award-winning Kill or Cure? series can be seen on BBC World, which is broadcast to some 268 million viewers in over 200 countries.

About the Institute for OneWorld Health

The Institute for OneWorld Health, the first US non-profit pharmaceutical company, develops safe, effective and affordable medicines for people with neglected diseases of the developing world. The Institute for OneWorld Health, headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, is a tax-exempt 501(c) (3) US corporation. (http://www.oneworldhealth.org/) ). Media resources are available at http://www.oneworldhealth.org/media/index.php/ .

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