Innovative partnerships for drug discovery against neglected diseases.

There is a compelling scarcity of pharmaceutical agents for efficacious, safe, and affordable treatment of neglected infectious or tropical diseases such as malaria, trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, dengue, lymphatic filariasis, and soil-transmitted helminths, despite their high prevalence in the developing world. Toxicity of drugs, microbial resistance patterns, and long courses of treatments are among the current challenges in effective management of neglected diseases.