Bolsters Critical Search for Drug and Vaccine Therapies Supports Needed In-Country Prevention Programs in Five Sub-Saharan African Countries

BOSTON - (April 17, 2001) - Three key programs in malaria prevention, the Harvard Malaria Initiative, Medicines for Malaria Venture, and Roll Back Malaria, announced today their partnerships with ExxonMobil in the fight against one of the world's most serious diseases.

The ExxonMobil funding, announced at the Harvard School of Public Health by Edward F. Ahnert, President, ExxonMobil Foundation, will support the accelerated development of new antimalarial drugs and malarial vaccines and strengthen on-the-ground programs for malaria prevention and treatment in five sub-Saharan African countries where ExxonMobil has major exploration and production operations: Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. The funding includes $1 million for the Harvard Malaria Initiative and $300,000 for Medicines for Malaria Venture. ExxonMobil teams also will work with host governments and the local Roll Back Malaria partnerships to contribute to the new malaria control efforts in the five countries.

ExxonMobil's commitment to the Harvard Malaria Initiative, Medicines for Malaria Venture and Roll Back Malaria will help to increase awareness of the disease, strengthen research and prevention programs, and establish a public-private partnership for in-country programs. "From its own experience in sub-Saharan Africa, ExxonMobil realizes that the malaria epidemic is a real issue and has sought out groups who are working to make a difference," said Dyann Wirth, Ph.D., Director of the Harvard Malaria Initiative.

In addition to providing funding for the Harvard Malaria Initiative, Medicines for Malaria Venture, and partnering with Roll Back Malaria, ExxonMobil hopes that its commitment to malaria prevention programs will encourage other private-sector companies to become involved. "We are committed to being an active partner in the global challenge to fight malaria, and we are very pleased to provide this funding and the support of our ExxonMobil companies in Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria," said Mr. Ahnert. "We have long supported programs that address public health issues worldwide, because we know that public health is a cornerstone of opportunity and achievement. Public-private partnerships can result in improved health programs and sustained results for local populations, and we believe that our malaria initiative will demonstrate that corporate investment can make a difference in achieving important public health goals."

Although malaria is a curable disease if promptly diagnosed and adequately treated, there are more cases of malaria in Africa today than at any time in recorded history. Forty percent of the world's population is at risk. In 2001, more than 300 million new cases will occur and more than one million people will die from the disease, of whom the majority will be young children. Ninety percent of the deaths will occur in Africa, south of the Sahara.

Although eradicated in many countries, including the U.S. in the 1950s, the increasing resistance of the malaria parasite to drug therapies makes the disease a global public health concern of immense proportions. In addition to the extremely high rate of infection and death, malaria cripples developing economies through the enormous cost in medical expenses and days of labor lost. It is estimated that each year the direct and indirect costs of malaria drain $2 billion from the economies of sub-Saharan African countries.

Harvard Malaria Initiative, Medicines for Malaria Venture, and Roll Back Malaria Represent Complementary Efforts in Malaria Prevention and Treatment

The Harvard Malaria Initiative (HMI), founded by the Harvard School of Public Health in 1997, focuses on basic scientific research on disease mechanisms in malaria, using findings to discover and develop new drug and vaccines therapies for the disease. "Because drug resistance is a major problem with malaria, we must do the research to find antimalarial drugs. Genomics is one path to development of drugs and vaccines to treat and prevent malaria," said Dr. Wirth. This spring, the sequencing of the malarial parasite's genome will be completed. This new genomic information will be instrumental in helping identify new drugs and vaccines.

According to Dr. Wirth, ExxonMobil's support will strengthen the Initiative's research capacities and enable the Initiative to provide training for scientists from malaria-endemic regions in drug development, treatment, and prevention techniques. "It is vital to train scientists from developing countries so they can translate the latest medical innovations into practical applications in-country," said Dr. Wirth.

Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a non-profit foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland, manages the discovery and development of new antimalarial drugs. MMV's programs, which typically partner academic investigators with the established pharmaceutical industry, have been instrumental in advancing the pipeline of new drugs following decades of decline. MMV's goal is to bring one new antimalarial drug to market approximately every five years with the first new drug in production before 2010. Christopher C. Hentschel, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of MMV, noted that ExxonMobil is the first company outside the pharmaceutical industry to back MMV. "Although there are many substantial companies with operations in disease-endemic areas, ExxonMobil is showing real leadership in the fight against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa," said Dr. Hentschel. "With their support, MMV will be better able to renew man's currently diminishing selection of effective antimalarial drugs."

Roll Back Malaria (RBM), is a global movement that seeks to accelerate efforts to prevent and treat malaria in all countries in which malaria remains a public health problem. The movement was launched as a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Bank and the World Health Organization. These agencies agreed to work together to accelerate action at the global level and to stimulate coordinated action in countries in which malaria is a major problem. At the country level, the partnerships are led by the government but include non-governmental agencies and interested private-sector partners. The partners develop a coordinated plan to achieve multi-sectoral action to tackle malaria.

Priority actions, identified by proven effectiveness and large-scale feasibility, include: developing ways to make insecticide treated bed-nets available to all who need them through a combination of public-private action; improving the treatment of malaria close to the home, through stimulating a combination of public-private efforts; treating all pregnant women at risk from malaria to minimize the effects of the disease on their newborns; and predicting and managing epidemics of malaria. In its first two years of existence, Roll Back Malaria has stimulated the production of strong multi-sectoral plans in more than 20 countries. Increased investment in malaria control is taking place, and there are indications that access to better prevention and treatment is starting to occur on a large scale.

ExxonMobil will join the RBM partnership in Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria. In these countries, ExxonMobil will work with the government and other RBM partners to identify the components of the national Roll Back Malaria strategy that the company can best contribute to, and will seek to accelerate action in those specific areas.

"ExxonMobil's partnerships with the five African countries set a fine example of the vital role that the private sector can play in combating malaria," said Kamini Mendis, M.D., PhD, DSc, Senior Advisor to Roll Back Malaria at WHO headquarters in Geneva. "By working with governments and other partners in communities ExxonMobil can make a real difference in improving people's lives. We in RBM are glad to be able to facilitate such country-level action."

For more information about the Harvard Malaria Initiative, visit: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/malaria.

For more information about Medicines for Malaria Venture, visit: http://www.mmv.org.

For more information about the Roll Back Malaria movement, visit: http://www.who.int/rbm.

For more information about ExxonMobil, visit: http://www.exxonmobil.com.