Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)

What Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) does

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is an international non-profit Product Development Partnership (PDP) founded in 2003 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, that develops treatments for neglected tropical diseases that traditional pharmaceutical R&D does not address due to limited commercial viability. DNDi operates a patient-needs-driven, virtual R&D model coordinating more than 200 partners across nearly 50 countries, anchored by five disease-specific clinical research platforms (Chagas Platform, HAT Platform, LEAP Platform, Dengue Alliance, redeLEISH Network) and four Lead Optimization Consortia in Latin America, Australia, the United States, and India. Core capabilities include high-throughput screening (over 3 million compounds screened for Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi, 1.5 million for T. brucei), AI-assisted drug discovery through partnerships with BenevolentAI and DeepMind, open-science initiatives such as the Open Synthesis Network and COVID Moonshot, and translational and clinical operations across 60 sites in 23 countries.

Since 2003 DNDi has delivered 14 treatments for six diseases — sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, hepatitis C, paediatric HIV, and malaria — including three new chemical entities (acoziborole, fexinidazole, ravidasvir) and is targeting 25 new treatments by 2028. Active programmes span sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, hepatitis C, paediatric HIV, cryptococcal meningitis, mycetoma, dengue, parasitic worms, pandemic preparedness (ASAP-0017445 broad-spectrum antiviral), and antimicrobial resistance. Notable 2026 milestones include the EMA positive opinion for acoziborole, DRC approval of acoziborole, Thailand registration of ravidasvir, and a Phase 2 study with AN2 Therapeutics targeting the first FDA-approved chronic Chagas therapy.

DNDi does not earn commercial revenue; the organization is funded by grants and donations from governments (UK, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, among others) and foundations including Wellcome and la Caixa, and operates with 101–250 employees across regional offices in Eastern Africa, Japan, Latin America, North America, South Asia, South-East Asia, and West and Central Africa. Treatments are distributed at no cost to patients through WHO donation programs (Sanofi/Foundation S for acoziborole), Ministry of Health-led access programmes in endemic countries (Colombia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa), and partnership-based clinical networks. Its advocacy focuses on open and collaborative R&D, R&D cost transparency, pro-access intellectual property policies, and equitable pandemic preparedness.

Name

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)

Legal name

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative

Website

https://dndi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DNDi is a Geneva-based non-profit Product Development Partnership founded in 2003 that develops affordable treatments for neglected tropical diseases, coordinating over 200 partners across nearly 50 countries and delivering 14 treatments for six diseases to date.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit pharmaceutical R&D for neglected tropical diseases

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disease-Specific Global Programs (HIV/TB/Malaria/NTDs) (HLAJAKAF), Disease-Specific Global Initiatives (HIV/TB/Malaria/NTDs) (HLAJAOAE)

Keywords

• Neglected disease research
• Drug development partnership
• Pharmaceutical R&D services
• Tropical disease treatments
• Clinical trial operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Donor funding and philanthropic contributions: DNDi is a non-profit organization funded by governments, foundations, and private donors. Funding supports life-saving research, network building, medicine development, and advocacy for neglected patients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DNDi is a non-profit product development partnership that discovers, develops, and delivers new and improved treatments for neglected tropical diseases. It coordinates a virtual R&D model linking over 200 partners (pharmaceutical firms, research institutes, governments, NGOs) across nearly 50 countries to deliver treatments as affordable global public goods.

Product overview

DNDi is a non-profit pharmaceutical development organization that develops life-saving medicines for people with neglected diseases around the world. Since 2003, DNDi has developed 14 treatments for 6 deadly diseases including sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, hepatitis C, paediatric HIV, and malaria. The organization operates a portfolio of over 40 research projects including 21 focused on identifying or developing new chemical entities, with 16 clinical trials ongoing. Key delivered treatments include acoziborole (single-dose sleeping sickness cure), fexinidazole (all-oral sleeping sickness treatment), ravidasvir + sofosbuvir (hepatitis C cure), paediatric benznidazole (first treatment for children with Chagas), 4-in-1 antiretroviral treatment (paediatric HIV), and various malaria and leishmaniasis treatments. The R&D approach is collaborative, working with over 200 partners in nearly 50 countries through disease-specific research platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dengue Alliance: A global partnership launched in 2022 led by institutions from dengue-endemic countries and DNDi to develop affordable and accessible dengue treatments.
• Chagas Clinical Research Platform
• HAT Platform
• LEAP Platform
• redeLEISH Network

Products and services

• Acoziborole A one-day, single-dose oral treatment for T.b. gambiense sleeping sickness. Designed for community-level administration as a tool to support elimination of the disease.
• Fexinidazole First patient-friendly, all-oral treatment for sleeping sickness (T.b. gambiense); 10-day, 1-pill-per-day regimen that replaced more complex therapies.
• Fexinidazole for T.b. rhodesiense Oral cure for the acute, Eastern and Southern African form of sleeping sickness (T.b. rhodesiense).
• Nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT) First improved combination treatment for sleeping sickness, replacing the toxic arsenic-based drug melarsoprol.
• Ravidasvir + sofosbuvir Simple-to-use, affordable hepatitis C cure developed to expand access in low- and middle-income countries.
• Paediatric Benznidazole First treatment formulations specifically developed for children with Chagas disease.
• 4-in-1 (ABC/3TC/LPV/r) paediatric antiretroviral Strawberry-flavoured, heat-stable antiretroviral combination treatment designed specifically for infants and young children with HIV.
• SSG&PM (sodium stibogluconate and paromomycin) Combination therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in East Africa that cuts treatment time by nearly half compared with previous regimens.
• ASAQ (artesunate-amodiaquine fixed-dose combination) Fixed-dose antimalarial combination of artesunate and amodiaquine for malaria treatment.
• ASMQ (artesunate-mefloquine fixed-dose combination) Fixed-dose antimalarial combination of artesunate and mefloquine; project later handed over to Medicines for Malaria Venture.
• Super-booster therapy for paediatric HIV/TB Improved treatment regimen for children co-infected with HIV and tuberculosis that resolves drug interactions between HIV and TB therapies.
• Chagas Access Project Programme to expand access to diagnosis and treatment for Chagas disease in endemic countries through partnerships with national health authorities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 treatments delivered for 6 deadly diseases since 2003, saving millions of lives
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

30 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AN2 TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2026Collaboration on AN2-502998 for chronic Chagas disease. DNDi collaborating on Phase 2 proof-of-concept study planned for late 2026. If approved, would be first FDA-approved therapy for adults with chronic Chagas disease.
• EisaicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2026GHIT Fund partnership for fosravuconazole Phase III trials for eumycetoma across Kenya, Senegal, and India. Also collaborating on lead identification for Chagas disease and broader R&D.
• SanoficoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2026Sanofi co-developed acoziborole with DNDi - a single-dose oral treatment for sleeping sickness that received EMA positive opinion in 2026. Sanofi will donate treatments to WHO through Foundation S for free patient access. Also partnered on fexinidazole development.
• Imperial College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2026Enhanced partnership to accelerate treatments for neglected diseases. Includes joint research, policy translation, AI utilization, student training, focusing on hepatitis, dengue, fungal infections, sleeping sickness, and Chagas disease.
• GARDP (Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016DNDi incubated GARDP from 2016-2019; now independent organization developing new antibiotic treatments. Renewed alliance agreement covering network, CMC platform, premises, and IT collaboration in 2024.
• Cipla LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop and manufacture the 4-in-1 strawberry-flavoured antiretroviral treatment for paediatric HIV, approved in South Africa (2022), Mali, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, and DRC.
• NovartiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration and licence agreement to jointly develop LXE408 - a first-in-class compound discovered at Novartis for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment.
• Bayer PharmacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop emodepside as a new treatment for river blindness with potential to kill both adult filarial worms and their embryonic larvae.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on visceral leishmaniasis/HIV co-infection studies in Ethiopia and India. Also historical partner on NECT for sleeping sickness.
• LAFEPE (Brazil)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop first paediatric treatment for Chagas disease, registering formulations for infants and children.
• Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGHIT partnership on antimalarial drug discovery (MMV172), and joint regulatory platform for non-profit medical research organizations to accelerate access to lifesaving medicines.
• GSKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on antimalarial drug discovery projects and DNDI-6899 pre-clinical candidate nomination for leishmaniasis in collaboration with GSK Global Health Unit and University of Dundee.
• Chagas Clinical Research PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of over 400 members representing 150 organizations across three continents to utilize and strengthen R&D capacity in endemic countries.
• HAT PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch network anchored in endemic countries coordinating sleeping sickness research activities to ensure new treatments are evaluated, registered, and accessible.
• LEAP Platform (Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional platform for leishmaniasis research in East Africa, coordinating clinical trials and supporting SSG&PM treatment implementation.
• Dengue AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership launched 2022 led by institutions from dengue-endemic countries including India, Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand to develop affordable and accessible dengue treatments.
• BenevolentAIcoreTechnology or IntegrationAI-guided drug discovery partnership using artificial intelligence to interrogate underlying mechanisms involved in dengue and rapidly identify therapies for repurposing.
• NTD Drug Discovery Booster consortium (AbbVie, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Merck, Shionogi, Takeda)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultilateral cooperative mechanism launched 2015 to accelerate discovery of validated hits for Chagas disease and leishmaniasis through non-exclusive licensing commitments.
• Tanabe PharmacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on antimalarial drug development (MMV172) through GHIT Fund investment for preclinical development.
• Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on TMEM16 series project optimizing broad-spectrum antivirals for influenza and other pandemic potential viruses, and on dengue treatments.
• WHO (World Health Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO co-founded GARDP with DNDi, sets treatment guidelines, and receives donated treatments for sleeping sickness. DNDi participates in WHO working groups including IGWG on Pandemic Agreement.
• University of GeorgiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in GHIT-funded antimalarial drug MMV172 preclinical development.
• University of TokyominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in GHIT-funded antimalarial drug discovery projects.
• LOLA (Lead Optimization Latin America)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium with University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and University of São Paulo (USP) focusing on leishmaniasis and Chagas disease drug discovery.
• LO-AUS (Lead Optimization Australia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustralian consortium including Epichem, CDCO-Monash, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, working on sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.
• LOCI (Lead Optimization Consortium in India)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium with Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar and Narsee Monjee Institute focused on leishmaniasis drug discovery.
• CERCLE (Coalition for Equitable Research in Low Resource Settings)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition co-launched in 2020 with 900 researchers and institutions aiming to accelerate research on infectious diseases of pandemic potential.
• PANTHER (Pandemic Preparedness Platform for Health and Emerging Infectious Response)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork co-founded by DNDi to prepare and respond rapidly to pandemics on African continent through experienced research centres.
• EnamineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributed over 2,000 compounds to open-science broad-spectrum coronavirus antiviral discovery project (ASAP-0017445).
• German Center for Infection Research (DZIF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Nucleoside Booster project screening nucleoside drugs for broadest antiviral activity against pandemic threat virus families.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV): MMV is a Geneva-based Product Development Partnership focused exclusively on malaria drug R&D. It is DNDi's closest structural analog and an active co-development partner on antimalarial projects like MMV172.
• Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP): GARDP is a not-for-profit PDP incubated by DNDi from 2016-2019. It develops new antibiotic treatments and shares DNDi's needs-driven, access-focused model, making it the most direct operational peer.
• TB Alliance: TB Alliance is a not-for-profit PDP developing improved tuberculosis treatments, including drug-resistant TB regimens. It shares DNDi's patient-needs-driven, non-profit drug development model and global health focus.
• International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI): IAVI is a non-profit PDP focused on HIV vaccine and antibody R&D. It shares DNDi's collaborative, donor-funded model and focus on diseases of poverty that traditional pharma under-invests in.
• Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI): CEPI is a global partnership financing vaccine development against epidemic threats. It shares DNDi's PDP structure, focus on outbreak preparedness (including ASAP-0017445-style broad-spectrum antivirals), and multi-donor funding model.

Emerging players

• Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND): FIND is a Geneva-based non-profit driving development and delivery of diagnostic tests for poverty-related diseases. It complements DNDi's drug development with diagnostic capability and shares the same global health ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• PATH: PATH is a large global health non-profit working across vaccines, drugs, devices, and diagnostics. It overlaps with DNDi in drug R&D and access for neglected diseases but operates at much larger scale across the broader global health value chain.
• Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: Gavi is a massive public-private partnership funding immunization in low-income countries. It competes with DNDi for global health donor funding and increasingly partners with PDPs for end-to-end delivery.
• Unitaid: Unitaid is a Geneva-based global health financing mechanism that funds scale-up of treatments including hepatitis C drugs. It shares DNDi's access-focused ethos and frequently co-funds access initiatives for DNDi-developed products.
• Wellcome Trust: Wellcome is a major UK-based charitable foundation that funds DNDi directly and also funds PDPs like MMV and IAVI. It is both a key DNDi donor and a strategic counterpart shaping the global PDP funding landscape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)