Gilead Sciences entered a partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide $20 million in funding and drug donations over five years to expand access to diagnostic services and treatment for visceral leishmaniosis (VL). The collaboration includes the donation of 380,000 vials of amphotericin B liposome for injection to meet the needs of WHO to treat VL in key endemic countries, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, South Sudan and Sudan.
VL, also known as kala-azar, is the world’s second-deadliest parasitic infectious disease and affects up to 300,000 people annually in resource-limited countries.