Open Philanthropy has awarded Cures Within Reach (CWR) a $1.5 million grant to support clinical research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This funding will bolster CWR's ReGRoW initiative, which identifies and funds clinical trials led by LMIC-based researchers, focusing on the use of readily available generic medicines, nutraceuticals, and indigenous medicines. The goal is to address unmet medical needs by repurposing existing treatments, offering a faster and more cost-effective alternative to developing new drugs.
The grant will support approximately 16 new clinical trials over the next two years. CWR's approach empowers health professionals and scientists in LMICs to determine their own health and research priorities. This ensures that research efforts are directly relevant to the specific challenges faced by these communities.
Success of Prior Initiatives
One notable example of CWR's impact is a trial in Kenya led by researcher Mainga Hamaluba at the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme. This trial explored the use of unithiol, a drug typically prescribed for heavy metal poisoning, as a treatment for snakebites. The promising results from this CWR-funded trial led to a larger, $5.4 million grant from Open Philanthropy to further investigate unithiol and another drug in Phase 2B clinical trials in Ghana and Brazil. This demonstrates the potential of repurposing existing drugs to address neglected health issues.
Barbara Goodman, president and CEO of CWR, emphasized the importance of allowing researchers in LMICs to set their own priorities. "The snakebite trial 2020 is a perfect example, because had we limited the program to something like oncology or infectious diseases, we wouldn’t have gotten that submission," Goodman said. Other CWR-funded studies include the use of sodium bicarbonate to reduce maternal and fetal death from acidosis during obstructed labor in Uganda, a generic drug combination to treat acute myeloid leukemia in Tanzania, and the addition of zinc to reduce infections related to sickle cell anemia in Uganda.
Effective Altruism in Action
Open Philanthropy, backed by Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and Cari Tuna, is a prominent advocate for effective altruism. Their investment in CWR reflects a commitment to identifying and supporting high-impact, cost-effective solutions to global health challenges. By focusing on repurposing already-approved drugs, CWR can significantly reduce the time and cost associated with bringing new treatments to patients.
Community Engagement
An important aspect of Open Philanthropy’s grant to CWR is the added focus on community engagement. This involves ensuring that people in the community understand the purpose of clinical research, trust that the scientists are working in their best interest, and see the value of participating in the research. Ultimately, community engagement processes ensure that the results of studies are disseminated to people in the countries and communities involved.
CWR's goal is to "de-risk" therapeutic candidates early in the development process, demonstrating their promise and attracting further funding from other sources. This approach aligns with the broader mission of science-oriented philanthropy: to fund innovative and potentially transformative ideas that may struggle to secure support from industry or government.
