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Institution

Novartis Foundation

NonprofitBasel, Switzerland
About: Novartis Foundation is a nonprofit organization based out in Basel, Switzerland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Leprosy & Population. The organization has 99 authors who have published 85 publications receiving 3993 citations.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Brazil, the last large country to achieve elimination status, has maintained its engagement in leprosy control and has kept its case detection rate at previous levels, whereas in India, case detection rates fell substantially after the country reached so-called elimination.
Abstract: 398 www.thelancet.com/infection Vol 16 April 2016 In 1982, in response to growing evidence of resistance to the antibacterial drug, dapsone, WHO recommended that all patients with leprosy be treated with a short-course combination of three antibacterial drugs, rifampicin, dapsone, and clofazimine. This multidrug therapy reduced the number of patients with leprosy being treated from 5·3 million in 1985 to 3·1 million in 1991. The reduction in prevalence inspired the World Health Assembly in 1991 to set a target to eliminate leprosy as a public health problem by 2000, defi ning elimination as a global prevalence rate below one case per 10 000 of the population. This target was reached at a global level by the end of 2000, although there was no decline in the numbers of new cases detected. Several countries failed to reach the target at a national level by 2000—notably, India and Brazil. After 2000, however, the number of new cases fell substantially: from around 750 000 in 2001 to around 300 000 in 2005. Retrospectively, this 65% fall cannot be attributed to a decline in leprosy transmission. Three observations support this premise. First, over the past decade, the annual number of new cases being detected has remained static at around the 200 000–250 000 mark. Second, that about 9% of these new cases are in children points to ongoing transmission of the infection. Third, disability rates in new patients remain high, refl ecting delayed diagnosis and treatment and thereby contributing to continued transmission of the disease. On Aug 6 and 7, 2015, a group of internationally recognised leprosy experts convened by the Novartis Foundation, the Nippon Foundation, and the Brazilian Ministry of Health met in Brasilia, Brazil, to discuss why transmission of the leprosy bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae, is continuing and what must be done to stop it. The meeting recognised that the goal to eliminate leprosy as a public health problem has given rise to unforeseen consequences. One consequence discussed by the meeting participants was the tendency of policy makers, international funders, and governments to mistakenly equate elimination (as a public health problem) with eradication and to consider that eff orts to rid the world of leprosy had achieved their objective. The upshot was a loss of general support and funding for anti-leprosy activities, resulting in less active case fi nding and underdiagnosis. Brazil, the last large country to achieve elimination status, has maintained its engagement in leprosy control and has kept its case detection rate at previous levels, whereas in India, case detection rates fell substantially after the country reached so-called elimination. Declining support for leprosy activities has clearly weakened not only the skills of the global health workforce in leprosy diagnosis and management, but also the motivation of the leprosy research community. In 2013, WHO, too, admitted that leprosy control had stagnated. Adding to the stagnation is the persistence of deep-rooted stigma and discrimination against people All authors play an active role in the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Global TB. NH is founder member of the Global TB Caucus. We declare no competing interests.

24 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article summarizes the evolution of the screening deck at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) and found that using traditional leadlikeness criteria reduces the hit rates of attractive chemical starting points in subset screening.
Abstract: This article summarizes the evolution of the screening deck at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR). Historically, the screening deck was an assembly of all available compounds. In 2015, we designed a first deck to facilitate access to diverse subsets with optimized properties. We allocated the compounds as plated subsets on a 2D grid with property based ranking in one dimension and increasing structural redundancy in the other. The learnings from the 2015 screening deck were applied to the design of a next generation in 2019. We found that using traditional leadlikeness criteria (mainly MW, clogP) reduces the hit rates of attractive chemical starting points in subset screening. Consequently, the 2019 deck relies on solubility and permeability to select preferred compounds. The 2019 design also uses NIBR's experimental assay data and inferred biological activity profiles in addition to structural diversity to define redundancy across the compound sets.

22 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The spatial expression patterns of the genes involved in myosin function by in situ hybridization at the tipped aggregate and early culmination stages of Dictyostelium suggest the existence of mechanisms responsible for the expression of particular genes.

22 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A core list of outcomes for evaluating hypertension care that account for the unique challenges healthcare providers and patients face in low- and middle-income countries, yet are relevant to all settings is presented.
Abstract: High blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor for mortality, accounting for nearly 1 in 5 deaths worldwide and 1 in 11 in low-income countries. Hypertension control remains a challenge, especially in low-resource settings. One approach to improvement is the prioritization of patient-centered care. However, consensus on the outcomes that matter most to patients is lacking. We aimed to define a standard set of patient-centered outcomes for evaluating hypertension management in low- and middle-income countries. The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement convened a Working Group of 18 experts and patients representing 15 countries. We used a modified Delphi process to reach consensus on a set of outcomes, case-mix variables, and a timeline to guide data collection. Literature reviews, patient interviews, a patient validation survey, and an open review by hypertension experts informed the set. The set contains 18 clinical and patient-reported outcomes that reflect patient priorities and evidence-based hypertension management and case-mix variables to allow comparisons between providers. The domains included are hypertension control, cardiovascular complications, health-related quality of life, financial burden of care, medication burden, satisfaction with care, health literacy, and health behaviors. We present a core list of outcomes for evaluating hypertension care. They account for the unique challenges healthcare providers and patients face in low- and middle-income countries, yet are relevant to all settings. We believe that it is a vital step toward international benchmarking in hypertension care and, ultimately, value-based hypertension management.

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The present study describes the preclinical profile of a novel ENaC blocker, NVP‐QBE170, designed for inhaled delivery, with a reduced potential to induce hyperkalaemia, and its potential to improve mucosal hydration and MCC in the lungs of CF patients.
Abstract: Background and Purpose Inhaled amiloride, a blocker of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), enhances mucociliary clearance (MCC) in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. However, the dose of amiloride is limited by the mechanism-based side effect of hyperkalaemia resulting from renal ENaC blockade. Inhaled ENaC blockers with a reduced potential to induce hyperkalaemia provide a therapeutic strategy to improve mucosal hydration and MCC in the lungs of CF patients. The present study describes the preclinical profile of a novel ENaC blocker, NVP-QBE170, designed for inhaled delivery, with a reduced potential to induce hyperkalaemia. Experimental Approach The in vitro potency and duration of action of NVP-QBE170 were compared with amiloride and a newer ENaC blocker, P552-02, in primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) by short-circuit current. In vivo efficacy and safety were assessed in guinea pig (tracheal potential difference/hyperkalaemia), rat (hyperkalaemia) and sheep (MCC). Key Results In vitro, NVP-QBE170 potently inhibited ENaC function in HBEC and showed a longer duration of action to comparator molecules. In vivo, intratracheal (i.t.) instillation of NVP-QBE170 attenuated ENaC activity in the guinea pig airways with greater potency and duration of action than that of amiloride without inducing hyperkalaemia in either guinea pig or rat. Dry powder inhalation of NVP-QBE170 by conscious sheep increased MCC and was better than inhaled hypertonic saline in terms of efficacy and duration of action. Conclusions and Implications NVP-QBE170 highlights the potential for inhaled ENaC blockers to exhibit efficacy in the airways with a reduced risk of hyperkalaemia, relative to existing compounds.

20 citations


Authors

Showing all 100 results

NameH-indexPapersCitations
Peter G. Schultz15689389716
Elizabeth A. Winzeler6924330083
Andrew I. Su5820220263
Diego H. Castrillon5410815087
Scott B. Ficarro5413411374
Eric C. Peters508211393
Kavita Shah461076741
Scott A. Lesley4622710590
Xu Wu42706929
Tim Wiltshire3911211960
Glen Spraggon371295172
Richard Glynne37706087
Claudio A. P. Joazeiro344810941
Mathew T. Pletcher30534704
Arnab K. Chatterjee28713251
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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers from the Institution in previous years
YearPapers
20222
20218
20209
20197
20186
20174