Eisai Provides Free Antiparasitic Tablets To Indonesia

Eisai has provided 151 million free diethylcarbamazine citrate tablets to the government of Indonesia for the treatment of elephantiasis.

AsianScientist (Oct. 19, 2015) – Japanese pharmaceutical Eisai Co., Ltd. has provided 151 million 100 mg tablets of the lymphatic filariasis treatment diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) free of charge for use to the Indonesian government in support of their Bulan Eliminasi Kaki Gajah: Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Month (BELKAGA) campaign.

Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a parasitic disease that is transmitted to humans by a mosquito’s bite. Once transmitted, it can cause lymphatic dysfunction which leads to pain as well as serious physical damage of disfigurement to parts of the body associated with lymphedema and other edemas.

Currently, an estimated 120 million people are already affected and more than 1.3 billion people worldwide are at risk of this disease. There are over 100 million people at risk of infection in Indonesia alone, which makes Indonesia the region with the second biggest population at risk after India.

The government of Indonesia views the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as an important policy issue. To achieve hasten the elimination of the disease by 2020, the month of October has been declared Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Month. As part of an event to mark to beginning of the BELKAGA campaign, a mass drug administration (MDA) exercise was held on October 1 in Bogor, West Java, in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO).

While there are three types of antiparasitic agents that can be used in MDA for lymphatic filariasis, global difficulties in obtaining a stable supply of high quality DEC tablets has been a major limiting factor in the elimination of this debilitating disease. Eisai conducted development of its own formulation of DEC at its Vizag Plant in India, and submitted a prequalification program dossier to WHO in October 2012.

After obtaining prequalification from WHO in August 2013, Eisai subsequently commenced supply of DEC tablets within the same month. Eisai continues to supply DEC tablets free of charge to people at risk in endemic countries in line with WHO’s MDA programs until 2020.

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Source: Eisai.
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