Anacor barks up right tree with neglected diseases focus

Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. is going to the dogs — and that’s just fine with CEO David Perry. The sooner it gets there, the faster the Palo Alto company can tackle more neglected human diseases.
It’s this simple: Some of the same parasites rampant in Fifi and Fluffy also cause some of the most devastating neglected diseases in humans. But while people willingly plunk down cash to acquire the latest drug to flush out a pet’s heartworm, poor people in developing countries must settle for older and cheaper — and, perhaps, less effective — treatments for tuberculosis, malaria or river blindness, for example.
The trick for a young drug-development company like Anacor (NASDAQ: ANAC) then is to come up with deals that balance those competing interests.
Anacor, whose website lists "neglected diseases" alongside its human commercial drug prospects, may have a few solutions.