SciDev.Net

Concerns have been raised that India's proposed patent law will not encourage scientists to carry out neglected disease research.

The Medicines for Malaria Venture plans to roll out three new antimalarials by 2010, according to its new five-year plan.

Cheaper medicines for malaria are on the horizon with new and faster genetic techniques, say scientists.

Cervical cancer control is feasible in the developing world for the first time, thanks to new screening techniques and HPV vaccination.

South Africa is set to approve a change to its medicines approval process that opponents fear will circumvent evidence-based evaluation.

Lebanon has launched an awareness campaign on counterfeit drugs, but commentators say the move doesn't go far enough.

A European society has launched a special task force to help provide low-cost fertility treatment for developing countries.

Women in developing countries are not regularly screened for cervical cancer, putting them at greater risk from the disease, finds a study.

Peru is distributing a powder serum to tackle snakebites in remote areas of the country, and hopes to be the leaders of such research in the Andean region.

A study of three African countries has found that community-administered healthcare is an effective strategy to combat many illnesses.

A more affordable cholera vaccine, based on a Vietnamese formulation, shows promising results in an Indian study.

European drug companies are topping their US counterparts in ensuring medicines reach the developing world, according to a new ranking.

The southern states of Mexico have the highest mortality rates and 'poverty diseases', says a WHO study.

Cost is the biggest obstacle to introducing human papillomavirus vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a study.

The WHO has been urged to make significant changes to the way disease research is financed, to better focus on maladies affecting the poor.

A study has found that around one third of antimalarial drugs available in six African cities are below WHO standards.

Clinical examination can provide as reliable a guide to patient progress in HIV treatment as laboratory testing, a study finds.

Thai doctors fear the country's compulsory licence policy may be at risk following the recent transfer of a key government official.

A round-up of news from or about South Asia for the period 1–15 March 2008.

Poor implementation of the new malaria policy means that Kenyan health workers are continuing to prescribe old drugs, say researchers.