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20 Years of Pioneering Partnerships for Patient Impact: Advancing Global Health
In 2026, Lygature marks 20 years of pioneering partnerships for patient impact. As part of our anniversary year, we are sharing a series of stories highlighting the partnerships, initiatives, and expertise that have shaped our organization and contributed to health innovation over the past two decades. In our previous story, we explored how Lygature has helped build, strengthen, and connect health innovation ecosystems. This story focuses on how those collaborative foundations have enabled Lygature to address global health challenges through partnership-driven innovation.
From early collaboration to a global health focus
Lygature’s role in global health can be traced back to the early days of its legacy organizations, when international collaboration around neglected diseases began to take shape. A key moment came with a partnering event in 2009 that brought together leading product development partnerships focused on neglected tropical diseases.
At the time, global attention was increasingly drawn to diseases such as schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, dengue, and chikungunya — conditions that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries and often lack sufficient investment in research and development. By convening organizations such as the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), Medicines for Malaria Venture, and others, this event helped catalyze new collaborations and research projects.
This moment is still seen as the starting point of Lygature’s long-standing engagement in global health — demonstrating the power of bringing the right partners together around shared challenges.
From partnership to patient impact
Over time, this early focus evolved into large-scale global health collaborations aimed at delivering tangible outcomes for patients. A defining example is the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium, often regarded as Lygature’s first “pioneering partnership.”
This collaboration has brought together partners from across sectors to address schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease affecting millions of people worldwide. In 2025, the consortium, coordinated by Lygature, reached a major milestone: the first preschool-aged children were treated with arpraziquantel, a pediatric formulation specifically developed for this vulnerable population.
This achievement illustrates what partnership-driven innovation can deliver — translating scientific research into real-world impact for patients who are often overlooked.
Remco de Vrueh, Partnership Director at Lygature and Coordinator of the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium, reflects on the importance of collaboration in global health:
“Global health challenges can only be addressed through strong partnerships that bring together expertise from across sectors and regions. The Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium shows what is possible when organizations unite behind a shared goal. Seeing the first preschool-aged children treated with arpraziquantel was a powerful reminder that collaboration can ultimately translate into tangible benefits for patients.”
Addressing growing global challenges through collaboration
Global health challenges such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) require coordinated, international action. With growing resistance to existing treatments and limited incentives for developing new antimicrobials, collaboration is essential to share risks, resources, and expertise.
Building on earlier research in antimicrobial discovery, Lygature has taken on a leading role in managing large-scale international partnerships in this field. Through initiatives such as GNA NOW, UNITE4TB, and END2AMR, Lygature contributes to accelerating the development of new treatments and approaches to combat infectious diseases.
Kristina Orrling, Global Health Team Lead at Lygature and Coordinator of the GNA NOW and END2AMR projects, highlights the role of partnerships in addressing global health challenges such as AMR:
“Many of today’s most pressing health challenges cross borders, disciplines, and sectors. Addressing them requires collaboration between researchers, industry, policymakers, funders, and healthcare professionals. By creating and supporting these partnerships, we can accelerate innovation and ensure that new solutions to challenges such as AMR reach the people who need them most.”
Together with related programs, these efforts represent a significant and growing portfolio of global health research, reflecting both the scale of the challenge and the importance of sustained collaboration.
Global partnerships as a foundation for progress
From early networking initiatives to complex international collaborations, Lygature’s global health activities demonstrate how partnerships can address some of the world’s most pressing health challenges.
By connecting stakeholders across sectors and geographies, aligning interests, and supporting the design and management of collaborative programs, Lygature helps ensure that innovation reaches the patients who need it most — regardless of where they live.
As global health challenges continue to evolve, the need for effective, partnership-driven approaches and expertise will only increase.
Continuing the conversation at Lygature LIVE
The importance of collaboration in global health will also be explored at this year's Lygature LIVE event on 2 July 2026. Julia Lischke, Partnership Leader at Lygature and head of the project management team for the UNITE4TB project, will share insights on addressing global health challenges and advancing innovation for patients worldwide.
Join us at Lygature LIVE to explore how partnerships continue to drive progress in global health and beyond.
This article is part of Lygature’s 20-year anniversary story series, celebrating two decades of pioneering partnerships for patient impact.