PHM-Exch> [Fwd: PHM concern about new snthetic-biology-based anti-malarial?]

Mon Apr 15 09:32:21 PDT 2013

Dear Ingeborg -- Thank you for sending your note and making us aware of
this network.This definitely looks like a forum where we would want to see
the new drug discussed and critiqued. Perhaps once we sign up, we can send
along a few statements that we've produced in the past few days.
We'll be in touch shortly.
Thanks much,
Jeff Conant

On Mon, Apr 15, 2013 at 12:59 AM, Ingeborg v Schayk <
ingeborgvschayk at malariastichting.nl> wrote:

> Dear Jeff & Natalie,
>
> Your discussion about ACTs just came to my attention.
>
> I believe this would be an interesting topic to further discuss with
> malaria experts. I would like to invite you to post your ideas and comments
> on MalariaWorld so we can bring this discussion to the attention of the
> international professional malaria community. MalariaWorld is the world's
> scientific and social network for malaria professionals with 7800+
> subscribers from 140 countries: www.malariaworld.org
>
> How can you post your blog? Visit
> http://www.malariaworld.org/user/register and register (it's for free and
> you can unsubscribe any time).
>
> After your account is activated you can start posting your blog. We will
> bring it to the attention of our subscribers in our weekly e-mail
> newsletter.
>
> If you would be interested, kindly let me know when you have submitted
> your registration. All registrations are verified manually (security check)
> and at times this takes some time but I can activate your account
> instantly.
>
> Kind regards,
> Inga
>
> Ingeborg van Schayk
> Director Dutch Malaria Foundation
>
> Dutch Malaria Foundation
> PO Box 18, 6669 ZG Dodewaard, The Netherlands
> T: +31 (0)6 131 91 007
> www.malariastichting.nl
>
> *MalariaWorld is a project of the Dutch Malaria Foundation*
>
> Sign up for the free MalariaWorld
> www.malariaworld.org
>
>
> <http://www.facebook.com/malariaworld>
>
> <http://www.facebook.com/malariaworld><http://www.twitter.com/malariaworld>
>
> <http://www.twitter.com/malariaworld><http://www.twitter.com/malariaworld>
> <http://www.twitter.com/malariaworld>
>
> <http://www.twitter.com/malariastichting>
>
> Begin doorgestuurd bericht:
>
> *Van: *"Anke Tijtsma" <anke.tijtsma at wemos.nl>
> *Onderwerp: **[Fwd: PHM concern about new snthetic-biology-based
> anti-malarial?]*
> *Datum: *14 april 2013 20:43:38 CEST
> *Aan: *bart at malariaworld.org
> *Kopie: *ingeborgvschayk at malariastichting.nl
>
> Hoi Bart en Ingeborg,
> Ik forward je dit mailtje van de listserve van Peoples health Movement.
> wellicht interessant voor jullie
> ik ben het eens met de gemaakte punten hieronder.
>
> Jullie?
>
> mbt het onderwerp counterfeit drugs, zal ik de agenda van de World health
> Assembly in mei op dit onderdeel volgen.  iemand van de NL ambassade in
> Geneve nam deel aan eerdere workinggroup van lidstaten op dit thema.  Ik
> zal je op de hoogte houden.
>
> Anke
>
>
> ------------------------- Oorspronkelijk bericht -------------------------
> Onderwerp: Re: PHM-Exch> PHM concern about new snthetic-biology-based
> anti-malarial?
> Van:       "Natalie Eggermont" <natalie.eggermont at gmail.com>
> Datum:     Vr, 12 april, 2013 16:29
> Aan:       "Jeff Conant" <jefeconant at gmail.com>
> CC:        "Eric Hoffman" <EHoffman at foe.org>
>           "Gopal Dayaneni" <gopal at movementgeneration.org>
>           "jim thomas" <jim at etcgroup.org>
>           "Tina Stevens" <Mltstevens70 at gmail.com>
>           phm-exchange at phm.phmovement.org
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dear all
>
> I looked into this briefly and agree with the points already raised by
> Jeff. I think we would want to add these:
>
> 1. This 'solution' does not address the problem. It is in line with a trend
> that we have criticized before where medicines and technology are brought
> forward to the neglect of prevention efforts focusing on the structural
> determinants of health. In this press release it seems as if the
> availability of artimisinin in world markets is the problem; which is not
> the case. Even if it would be available at low prices, children would still
> die from malaria. A recent report from ACTwatch (project by Population
> Services International with LSHTM, ironically funded by BMGF but they have
> good data) shows that, although ACT is now the WHO-recommended treatment,
> the use of ineffective monotherapies remains widespread, both
> non-artemisinin therapies as well as oral artemisinin monotherapy. WHO has
> recommended a ban of this last one due to the potential to cause
> artemisinin resistance. Their multi-country study showed that anti-malarial
> medicines markets were dominated by the private sector (in Nigeria 98%, of
> which only 2% were quality-assured ACT). "In six African countries,
> quality-assured ACT accounted for less than 25% of total antimalarial
> volumes, and private-sector quality-assured ACT volumes represented less
> than 6% of the total market share (...) For most countries, non-artemisinin
> therapies dominate the overall market, followed by ACT and then oral
> artemisinin monotherapies. Exceptions to this finding were noted in Nigeria
> and the DRC where more oral artemisinin monotherapies were sold than ACT in
> the private sector" (see graph attached). In addition, first-line quality
> assured ACT was found to be 5-24 times more expensive than non-artemisinin
> therapies in each country. While the private sector is distributing most
> drugs, the knowledge of the first- line treatment was significantly higher
> in the public/not-for-profit sector than the private sector across all
> countries: 44% to 96% of providers in the public/not-for- profit sector
> could correctly state the first-line treatment, compared with 12% to 67% in
> the private sector.
> The problem is lack of political will, lack of regulation of the private
> sector and lack of training of health workers; not unavailable ACT.
>
> 2. Who is in there and how they are benefitting. The big funder is the Bill
> and Melinda Gates Foundation, that gave money to PATH's drug development
> program "OneWorld Health". They 'shephered the drug’s development out of
> Keasling’s UC Berkeley lab to Amyris for scale-up and then to
> pharmaceutical firm Sanofi, based in France, for production". It has to be
> noted that about half of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s stock
> holdings are invested in Berkshire Hathaway and that Berkshire Hathaway
> holds a stake in Sanofi. And Jay Keasling, the principle investigator, has
> also profited from business deals with Monsanto, the investment favorite of
> the Gates Foundation. Amyris, besides producing artimisinin also plans to
> develop agrofuels, in which Monsanto is a major player. At the heart of the
> problem, and I think FoE would highlight that anyhow, is that the
> development of science is not serving the public interest but commercial
> one's and that these people are at the highest level setting the research
> agenda and shaping the public's view of problems and solutions.
>
> I'm not a malaria expert, nor know much about WHO drug approval processes
> so there is probably a lot more to be said. This is just one contribution
> to a conversation which I agree with Jeff we should have. I don't think our
> core concerns would differ so much from previous FoE or ETC Group
> statements on these processes unrelated to medicines; so I think this could
> work two ways: 1) us contributing some expertise on malaria, generic drugs
> etc and 2) using this case to raise the more broad discussion on synthetic
> biology in the health field, where it has not been very present to my
> knowledge?
>
>
> With love
>
> Natalie
>
>
> 2013/4/11 Jeff Conant <jefeconant at gmail.com>
>
> Greetings PHM -- I'm writing to see if I can stimulate some concern or
> conversation about today's announcement of a new anti-malarial drug that
> mimics natural artemisinin. The announcement is here:
>
>
> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/11/launch-of-antimalarial-drug-a-triumph-for-uc-berkeley-synthetic-biology/
>
> The concern that I think PHM would want to weigh in on, is threefold: 1)
> that this new drug, being marketed by Sanofi, is produced using a new
> biotech process based in the genetic modification of microbes that are
> designed to 'excrete' substances such as the active ingredient in
> artemisia, 2) that the currently decentralized production of artemsisin
> will be captured entirely by a single company that owns the means of
> production, and 3) that this new production will replace the entire
> global production, which will put some  5500 farmers in East Africa out of
> work.
> The media is already announcing this as a great humanitarian advance, but
> it has real social justice implications.
> I am at Friends of the Earth and am working on a press statement about
> this with a number of groups critical of synthetic biology. I wonder if PHM
> has looked at this, if any PHM'ers would want to weigh in, and if there are
> any experts on generic drugs, WHO drug approval, malaria, ectetera, who
> would be able to provide some expertise and make some public statements on
> this?
> Thanks much!
> - Jeff Conant
>
> --
> Jeff Conant
> Skype: jeffconant
> Web/Blog: http://climate-connections.org/
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Jeff Conant
Skype: jeffconant
Web/Blog: http://climate-connections.org/
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