Swiss drug giant Novartis is setting up a private non-profit institute in Singapore dedicated to discovering better treatments for neglected diseases that are ravaging developing countries.

The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) will initially focus on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and dengue. Any resulting drugs will be available to developing countries without royalties.

In this article, Dennis Normile describes the need for such an institute, and interviews some of the researchers who are preparing to head off to Singapore.

Reference: Science 299, 811 (2003)