When...[Sanofi-Aventis] teamed up with a Swiss charity last month to launch a low-cost malaria drug for Africa, the news caused as much concern as rejoicing among international health experts... To its champions, it marks a first success for one of a growing number of “product development partnerships” [between NGOs and pharmaceuticals]…To its critics, [the drug] Asaq is a step backwards, because its developers bypassed the stringent standards of developed-world regulators and instead gained quick approval in Morocco, based on relatively limited scientific data...“We realise that Sanofi’s aim is to get the drug launched quickly. However, applying a different standard for drugs aimed at Africa invites unnecessary questions,” says Chris Hentschel, head of the Medicines for Malaria Venture...[Also refers to Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline].