The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a $10 million grant to the Institute for OneWorld Health in San Francisco to support the advancement of paromomycin, OneWorld's drug for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), through the approval and post-approval process.

VL, also known as "black fever," is a fatal disease transmitted by sand flies that attacks the internal organs. An estimated 1.5 million people worldwide are currently infected. OneWorld Health, the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company in the United States, will seek regulatory approval for paromomycin in India this year, followed by a post-approval study and a complete clinical trial of shorter duration to optimize the use of the drug. The grant will also support the company's work with partners to manufacture paromomycin at an affordable cost.

"Currently, VL devastates entire families for generations," said OneWorld Health founder and CEO Victoria Hale. "In addition to the death it brings, it also forces families to exhaust their assets to pay for treatment and perpetuates cycles of poverty. Given the high safety level and initial cure rates comparable to current hospital-based therapies, we believe paromomycin will help the Indian government to safely and affordably control VL."