London, United Kingdom (October 18, 2007) - Helminth infections are responsible for a huge health burden on developing country populations, and the number of drugs available to treat them is incredibly limited.

The paucity of products in development for helminth diseases has necessitated a focused initiative to boost the Research & Development pipeline for these diseases. Consultation meetings organised by the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) in collaboration with the Japanese Society of Parasitology over the course of 2006 and 2007 led to the establishment of the Helminth Drug Initiative (HDI), which aims to facilitate R&D against human parasitic worm infections.

In a freely available, 103-page peer-reviewed special issue of Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, the rationale behind the HDI is documented, along with reports of technical consultations and recommendations that led to the initial establishment of the Initiative within TDR.

"The Helminth Drug Initiative is an integral part of an innovative global drug discovery platform established by TDR, based on a coordinated network of partners from industry and academia from developed and developing countries," commented Dr Solomon Nwaka, who leads the TDR drug discovery effort and the HDI.

This special Helminth Drug Initiative issue of Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery is available for free download at: http://www.pjbpubs.com/uploads/content/expertopin/eodc_freedownload.htm.

About Expert Opinion

The Expert Opinion series provides systematic and authoritative reviews to support every stage of the drug discovery and R&D pipeline from target to market. Each of the eleven journals in the series covers a specific aspect of the pharmaceutical pipeline.

The series contains the following journals: Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy, Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology, Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, Expert Opinion on Emerging Drugs, Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs, Expert Opinion on Medical Diagnostics, Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents, and Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets.

For further information:
Phil Garner, Publisher
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7017 6775
Email: phil.garner@informa.com
Website: http://www.expertopin.com

RELEASE: ©2007 Expert Opinion. All rights reserved.