The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) announced last week that it is to coordinate the African activities of a new international effort to promote research and development into drugs for diseases that impact the poor. The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) — an initiative spearheaded by Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) — will facilitate collaboration between research institutes, non-governmental organisations and pharmaceutical companies in both rich and poor countries in a bid to develop drugs against diseases currently ignored by market-driven drug development.