I am calling all the big pharma companies, including the following, with a big question:
Johnson & Johnson |
Pfizer | Roche |
| GSK | Novartis | Sanofi |
| AstraZenica | Merck & Co | Bayer Healthcare |
| Eli Lilly | Bristol-Mayers Squibb |
Boehringer Ingelheim |
Why is it that none of the big pharmaceutical companies produce a diarrhoea treatment kit designed for the treatment of diarrhoea in the home?
Any ideas?
In fact, the only company doing this, that we are aware of, is Pharmanova, our pharmaceutical partner in Zambia. This is surprising to us given that:
- There is no need to do any complicated clinical trials – we know what a kit should contain and there has been a WHO/UNICEF standard in place for 10 years. It’s ORS and Zinc, simple, safe and classified as ‘over the counter medicines’ in most countries which means they can be sold by any retailer.
- Less than 1% of children receive this treatment.
- Diarrhoea is the second biggest killer of under 5 children.
- Children typically get 2-3 episodes of diarrhoea a year so it’s and big market.
- ColaLife has designed and tested such a product and demonstrated that a market exists. The headlines from our trial in Zambia are here. All our findings are available as ‘open source’ to anyone who wishes to exploit them.
- As well as the immediate financial returns, producing such a kit would significantly improve a pharmaceutical company’s ranking in the Access to Medicines Index which big pharma companies take very seriously.
So I ask again: why is it that none of the big pharmaceutical companies produce a diarrhoea treatment kit designed for the treatment of diarrhoea in the home?
