Access to treatments for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is currently based primarily on philanthropic donations. These donations, such as for schistosomiasis, have significantly contributed to decreased endemicity of NTDs around the globe and remain necessary to ensure access for targeted populations. For example, our provision of up to 250 million praziquantel tablets per year, through our partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), enabled the treatment of schistosomiasis in over 800 million patients, mainly school-aged children, as of 2007 onwards.

Aimed at eliminating 21 NTDs, the 2021-2030 WHO NTD Roadmap raises the bar and underlines the need for additional interventions to meet this ambition, including new treatments to address remaining unmet medical needs and populations, development of sensitive diagnostics, infrastructures for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and disease awareness creation in communities as part of behavioral change initiatives. Reaching elimination of schistosomiasis also means that all populations at risk, including preschool-aged children and adults, need to be treated, as outlined in the WHO’s new treatment guidelines on control and elimination of human schistosomiasis.

In this context, innovative access models to provide additional medicines and interventions are prerequisites to ensure long-term sustainable and equitable access at country level, strengthening country ownership and empowerment in the fight against NTDs including schistosomiasis.

We apply an integrated approach to fight schistosomiasis until its elimination as a public health problem. Within this approach, we continue providing tablets of the standard of care treatment for mass drug administration programs, through our partnership with WHO.  In addition, together with our partners, we have focused our efforts on a new pediatric treatment for preschoolers that is in its roll-out phase.

Based on our holistic access framework for availability, affordability and accessibility of our innovations and products in low- and middle-income countries, we also aim to collaboratively set up an innovative access mechanism to fight NTDs based on: high-quality local manufacturing to ensure production; a “not-for-profit” procurement based-model for the products; and a well-defined country implementation path for long-term sustainable access in countries.