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NEGLECTED DISEASES ARE AILMENTS THAT CAUSE significant morbidity or mortality but for which treatments are unavailable, ineffective or toxic. These conditions, which include HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and an assemblage of “neglected tropical diseases”(NTDs) comprised of various helminthic, protozoan, viral and bacterial infections, primarily affect impoverished people in low-and middle-income countries. 1, 2 The fact that most people who are affected by NTDs cannot afford expensive treatments has inhibited investment in research and development (R&D) in this area. However, roughly a billion people worldwide are infected with one or more NTD, 3 leading to 530 000 deaths annually and a global burden of disease (GBD) of 57 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs). 4 This is a significant GBD when compared with the global burden of 84.5, 46.5 and 34.7 million DALYs attributed to HIV/AIDS …