KARACHI: Ferozsons Laboratories Limited, a publicly listed healthcare company has partnered with PanTheryx Inc., a US life science company, to launch DiaResQ sachets, a breakthrough nutritional innovation for diarrhoea relief in children and adults.
The product was included among the world’s 30 leading healthcare innovations that show promise in transforming global health by 2030, in the ‘Reimagining Global Health, Innovation Countdown 2030’ report, produced by PATH, and supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway.
DiaResQ gives physicians an option for a highly effective nature-based treatment of diarrhoea, a disease that annually claims the lives of over 125,000 children under the age of 5 in Pakistan alone.
According to UNICEF, diarrhoea is a leading killer of children, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of all deaths among children under the age of 5 worldwide in 2016. This translates to over 1,300 young children dying each day, or about 480,000 children a year.
Pediatric diarrhoea is reported as the 2nd leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age in Pakistan, second only to pneumonia. One in every 10 children dies before reaching their 5th birthday.
Scott Hyman, the senior vice president of PanTheryx, Inc, said on the occasion, “At PanTheryx, we believe that GI health is a basic right of all people, regardless of their socio-economic status, politics and we are totally dedicated to insuring that even the poorest and hardest to reach populations have access to our products. Our partnership with Ferozsons and the launch of DiaResQ in Pakistan is a true milestone for us as we work to fulfill that mission. As a company, they share our vision for the vast potential that nutritional interventions have to reduce the high number of deaths due to diarrhoeal disease, and to dramatically impact the burden caused by diarrhoea improving the overall quality of life for families across Pakistan.”
DiaResQ supplements use of oral rehydration solution and zinc by providing nutrients for intestinal repair. Most children that suffer from diarrhoea in Pakistan are also reported to be malnourished. According to a study published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), DiaResQ has demonstrated efficiency in treating acute childhood diarrhoea caused by the most common pathogens. Ninety-six percent (96%) of the diarrhoea cases were resolved with a single dose of DiaResQ taken for three days – it significantly reduced fifty-six percent (56%) diarrhoea episodes on day 1 of treatment.
Osman Khalid Waheed, the CEO of Ferozsons Laboratories Limited, said, “Ferozsons is a patient-centered company committed to introducing breakthrough therapies in a number of challenging disease areas in Pakistan. We have recently started working in mother and child health with international partners like PanTheryx, Inc. and are confident that such innovations will contribute to reducing child mortality and ultimately help Pakistan achieve its Sustainable Development Goals around health.”
Published in Daily Times, April 17th 2018.