Drug associations as alternative and complementary therapy for neglected tropical diseases.

The present paper aims to establish different treatments for neglected tropical disease by a survey on drug conjugations and possible fixed-dose combinations (FDC) used to obtain alternative, safer and more effective treatments. The source databases used were Science Direct and PubMed/Medline, in the intervals between 2015 and 2021 with the drugs key-words or diseases, like "schistosomiasis", "praziquantel", "malaria", "artesunate", "Chagas' disease", "benznidazole", "filariasis", diethylcarbamazine", "ivermectin", " albendazole". 118 works were the object of intense analysis, other articles and documents were used to increase the quality of the studies, such as consensuses for harmonizing therapeutics and historical articles. As a result, an effective NTD control can be achieved when different public health approaches are combined with interventions guided by the epidemiology of each location and the availability of appropriate measures to detect, prevent and control disease. It was also possible to verify that the FDCs promote a simplification of the therapeutic regimen, which promotes better patient compliance and enables a reduction in the development of parasitic resistance, requiring further studies aimed at resistant strains, since the combined APIs usually act by different mechanisms or at different target sites. In addition to eliminating the process of developing a new drug based on the identification and validation of active compounds, which is a complex, long process and requires a strong long-term investment, other advantages that FDCs have are related to productive gain and gain from the industrial plant, which can favor and encourage the R&D of new FDCs not only for NTDs but also for other diseases that require the use of more than one drug.

Pesquisa, desenvolvimento e inovação para o controle das doenças negligenciadas / Research, development and innovation for the control of neglected diseases

O fluxo contínuo de novos produtos no mercado é fruto da inovação tecnológica apresentada pela Indústria Farmacêutica. O governo Brasileiro tem investido em iniciativas promissoras de inovação através do desenvolvimento de medicamentos para os programas públicos de saúde, instituindo o Programa de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Doenças Negligenciadas, o qual foca sete doenças: dengue, doenças de Chagas, leishmaniose, hanseníase, malária, esquistossomose e tuberculose. O artigo foca uma revisão sobre P&D aplicada à prevenção e controle das doenças negligenciadas no Brasil e no mundo. Com base nos dados levantados, percebeu-se que são grandes as dificuldades para o desenvolvimento de P&D em tecnologias e produtos para combater as doenças negligenciadas e que são poucos os investimentos financeiros nesse segmento quando comparados aos de pesquisas que focam outras enfermidades. Diante disso, pode-se enfatizar a importância de investimentos em pesquisas nesse setor, em saneamento básico e programas educativos que orientem a população sobre combate à proliferação dos vetores e agentes causadores.

The steady stream of new products on the market is the result of technological innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. The Brazilian government has invested in promising initiatives for innovation through the development of drugs for public health programs, setting up the Program for Research and Development on Neglected Diseases, which focuses on seven diseases: dengue fever, Chagas? disease, leishmaniasis, Hansen?s disease, malaria, schistosomiasis and tuberculosis. The article reviews the R&D applied to the prevention and control of neglected diseases in Brazil and worldwide. On the basis of survey data, we note that there are great obstacles to the development of the technology and products needed to fight neglected diseases and there are few investments in this segment in comparison with research that focuses on other diseases. In this light, we stress the importance of investment in research in this area and in sanitation and educational programs to guide the population in combating the proliferation of vectors and causative agents.