Positive Initial Results in VL, New Developments in Enterics Reported at ASTMH.
The preliminary results from the Phase III clinical trial just concluded in India using paromomycin to cure visceral leishmaniasis were presented by OneWorld Health at the 53rd annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medical and Hygiene. The abstract is available on the ASTMH website.

Attendees also learned about “New Approaches to Effective, Affordable Treatment and Prevention of Pediatric Diarrhea in the Developing World” from a panel of global health experts. Here is a brief description of their talks.



Gates Foundation Awards $42.6 Million for Antimalarial Drug Development.
A unique collaboration among biopharmaceutical, university and nonprofit sectors could create a stable, low-cost supply of the most effective antimalarial ingredient in use today, artemisinin. The grant to OneWorld Health will support basic research at the University of California, Berkeley, to perfect a microbial factory for artemisinin, currently the best-known treatment for malaria but in acutely short supply worldwide.

Amyris Biotechnologies, a new biotech company founded on the breakthroughs in synthetic biology pioneered at UC Berkeley, will develop the process for industrial fermentation. OneWorld Health will perform the drug development and regulatory work that will demonstrate that the microbially produced artemisinin derivative is bioequivalent to the natural form. Read the news release >

Scientific American Names OneWorld Health Among Top 50 Business Leaders.
The Board of Editors at Scientific American magazine named OneWorld Health the 2004 Business Leader in Public Health and Epidemiology for creating the first nonprofit U.S. drug firm that seeks to develop new, affordable medicines for people in the developing world .

In recognition, OneWorld Health is included in the Scientific American 50 in the December issue.  Editor-In-Chief John Rennie described his magazine’s commitment saying, “Scientific American believes strongly that the best hope for a safer, healthier, more prosperous world rests in the enlightened use of technology.  The Scientific American 50 is our annual opportunity to salute the people and organizations making that possible through their outstanding efforts as leaders of research, industry and policymaking.” Read the news release >

OneWorld Health News Briefs
The Institute for OneWorld Health has officially incorporated as a company in the U.K., with an office in Berkshire: Castle Hill House, 12 Castle Hill, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1PD, +44(0)1753 839 364.

OneWorld Health offices will be closed Dec. 27-31 for the holidays, and reopen on Monday, Jan. 3, 2005.

• Newsweek,  Creating More Paths to Hope, Dec 6. 2004
  They were good friends of ours, and they were desperate. Their 13-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer called Ewing's sarcoma. Her doctors had little to offer, and the cancer was spreading fast. Was there anything, they begged us, that we could do to help?
  Read the article >
  
  
• Scientific American, 2004 Scientific American 50 Award, Dec 7, 2004.
  Victoria Hale is a rare breed: a drug company chief on a mission to vanquish diseases of the developing world. In 2000, disillusioned with the pharmaceutical industry, she launched America’s first non-profit drug company. She tells Michael Bond how she persuaded the industry to part with undeveloped drugs that her venture is now trying to turn into cures for some of the world’s most lethal diseases.
  Read the article >
  
  
• Worthwhile Magazine, How a Cab Ride Changed Destiny , October 25, 2004 (subscription required).
  Victoria Hale’s Transformation.  Slender, 5-foot-7 with honey-brown ringlets framing her face, Victoria Hale hardly looks like a champion fighter.  But the hard-headed scientist and one-time FDA regulator knows how to pack a punch.
  Read the article >
  
  
• SEED Magazine, Revolutionary Minds, October 2004.
  A selection of icons and iconoclasts whose radical ideas are inspiring a vivid dialogue that is deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Meet the Third Culture.
  Read the article >

Individuals
Largus Angenent and Ruth Ley, Saint Louis, MO
Roxanne Bales, Burlingame, CA
Angeline Barnes, San Pedro, CA
Gerald Baron, Berkeley, CA
Jeff Bernard, Brisbane, CA
Sharon Bison, Newport Beach, CA
Beverly Black, San Francisco, CA
Sarah Bolton, San Francisco, CA
Melissa Bronez, Garret Park, MD
Mark Bronez, San Francisco, CA
Cindy Brumfiel, San Francisco, CA
William Buhles, Davis, CA
Gregory Burgess, Hoboken, NJ
Ami Burnham, San Francisco, CA
Edgar and Rosemary Buttner, Piedmont, CA
Cynthia Calub, Sacramento, CA
Dierdre Campbell, San Francisco, CA
Justin Carr, San Francisco, CA
Tony Championsmith, Seattle, WA
Jeffrey Chang, San Francisco, CA
Rose Yuen Chang, Fremont, CA
Rosemary Chang, San Francisco, CA
Christina Chang Weeks, Los Altos, CA
Jennifer Cheung, San Francisco, CA
Eric Cohen, Wellesley, MA
Lauren Dahl, Kihei, HI
Elizabeth DaSilva, San Francisco, CA
Aveena Demesa, Sacramento, CA
Irene Demesa, Sacramento, CA
Rumel Deocampo, Sacramento, CA
Melba Deocampo, Sacramento, CA
Tonya Elliott, San Francisco, CA
Matthew Esslinger, San Francisco, CA
Laura Fankushen, San Francisco, CA
Robert Ferro, San Francisco, CA
Susan Frank, Mountain View, CA
Paul Garcia, Laguna Niguel, CA
Douglas Guarnieri, San Francisco, CA
Tyroan Hardy, Oakland, CA
Megan Harlan, San Francisco, CA
William Heter, San Francisco, CA
Alan and Susan Hitt, Stockton, CA
Brian Hitt, San Francisco, CA
Shari Hochberg, San Francisco, CA
Jeffrey Hogue, Palo Alto, CA
Sarah Jaw-Tsai, Foster City, CA
Jesse Jones, Dallas, TX
Galeeb Kachra, Cambridge, MA
Howard Kaplowitz, Garrison, NY
Molly Katz, San Francisco, CA
William Kelly, San Francisco, CA
Susan Kim, Redwood City, CA
Justine King, Hoboken, NJ
Luin Kingman, San Francisco, CA
Cory Kostrub, Pacifica, CA
Charlotte Kuo, San Francisco, CA
Evans and Hope Kuo, Boise, ID
Pierre Lauriault, France
Natalie Lauriault, Guelth, Canada
David Legacki, San Diego, CA
Dave and Andrea Legacki, San Pedro, CA
Shawn Lin, Saratoga, CA
Linda Lin, Cupertino, CA
Samuel Loeb, San Francisco, CA
Dick Lowry, San Francisco, CA
Mathai Mammen, Redwood City, CA
Dan Marquess, South San Francisco, CA
Natalie Mathiasen, Toronto, Canada
Tracy Mills, Hoboken, NJ
Maggie Morris, West Chester, PA
Gregory Newell, San Francisco, CA
Maria Nicholl, San Francisco, CA
Mehdi Paborji, Cupertino, CA
Marilyn Pease, Kerrville, TX
Lourdes Pedemonte, South San Francisco, CA
Joyce Pharriss, Menlo Park, CA
Patrice Pitot, San Francisco, CA
Briana Pompei, Monarch Beach, CA
Nancy Quinn, Garden Grove, CA
Jennifer Revels Raleigh, NC
Richard Roselli, New York, NY
Greg Rosen, Berkeley, CA
Danielle Rubin, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Pamala Sayasane, San Francisco, CA
Tom Schaal, Stevenson Ranch, CA
Marla Schwartz, New York, NY
Philip and Deborah Scopp, Atlanta, GA
Kerry Smith, Berkeley, CA
Linda and Brad Snow, Lake Forest, CA
Pamela Sosa, Cary, NC
Dr. Basil Stamos, Menlo Park, CA
Niel and Sarah Starksen, Los Altos Hills, CA
Ellie Starr, Waban, MA
Richard and Jean Stewart, Houston, TX
Jenny Strauss, Berkeley, CA
Zachary Struyk, San Francisco, CA
John Sundell, San Francisco, CA
Michael Taborn, Austin, TX
Lory Tan, Daly City, CA
Ken Taylor, San Francisco, CA
Ninia Torrefiel, San Francisco, CA
Matt Triska, San Francisco, CA
Ling Tsou, New York, NY
Jason Tulley, San Francisco, CA
Cathleen Tuttle, San Francisco, CA
James and Alice Wang, Pittsburgh, CA
Toshi Washizu, San Francisco, CA
Gavin Williams, Menlo Park, CA
May Wong, San Francisco, CA