Nagasaki University and Astellas announce new research agreement

NTDs are acknowledged to be a major global problem.

The Nagasaki University and Astellas Pharma Inc have confirmed that they have signed a collaborative research agreement to discover new drugs for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) brought on by dengue virus.

Prevalent mainly in tropical areas of developing countries, NTDs are infectious diseases spread by parasites bacteria or viruses.

Estimates suggest that there are as many as one billion people are affected with NTDs worldwide, which goes to underline the potential importance of this new agreement.

The research team will hope to help produce a treatment for dengue fever/dengue hemorrhagic fever, for which there is no drug already on the market.

"The Nagasaki University and Astellas will work together to accelerate the discovery of new drugs for patients suffering from dengue fever/dengue hemorrhagic fever in the world through their collaborative research aiming to contribute to improve global public health problems," a statement explained.