GARDP has set up its team, scientific advisory committee, and R&D strategy. Three programmes are underway: neonatal sepsis, gonorrhoea, and an initiative to recover and connect the vital knowledge of scientists in antibiotic drug development. In recent weeks, both the G20 Health Ministers and outgoing WHO Director-General Margaret Chan have expressed support for GARDP and called for more R&D into drug-resistant infections.
DNDi is very pleased to announce the renewed commitment of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT), its donor since 2013, to DNDi projects on leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.
Fexinidazole entered into the last stage of clinical development before potential submission to regulatory authorities in 2017 as the first new oral treatment for sleeping sickness, while SCYX-7158* moved to Phase II/III.
Two new chemical entities were nominated as pre-clinical candidates for visceral leishmaniasis, and two Phase II studies to test new treatments for PKDL were designed for launch in Bangladesh, India and Sudan in 2017.
A proof-of-concept study was launched in Bolivia (soon to be extended to Argentina) testing, in patients with chronic Chagas disease, new benznidazole regimens and durations and in combination with fosravuconazole.
Emodepside entered into healthy volunteer Phase I studies in 2016; ABBV-4083 (Tylamac)* entered into full pre-clinical development for the treatment of filarial diseases.
The results of the HIV/TB co-infection ‘super-boosting’ study prompted a change in WHO guidelines, confirming the evidence around the need to increase ritonavir dosages to counter drug-drug interactions.
A phase II/III study to test fosravuconazole in eumycetoma patients was designed for launch in Sudan in 2017.
A Phase II/III study was launched in Malaysia – soon to be extended to other countries – combining ravidasvir and sofosbuvir.
Our staff, partners, and stakeholders share their highlights from 2016.
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) has extended its financial support to DNDi with additional funding.
[November 2016]
The implementation Project for Chagas disease in Colombia is moving forward. After an epidemiological analysis, the partners confirmed the change of the diagnostic algorithm for the country’s pilot projects. With the new algorithm, positive cases for Chagas are confirmed by a simpler procedure test.
KfW, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grants EUR 10 Million to DNDi
DNDi has been awarded EUR 10 million towards the development of treatments against sleeping sickness, visceral leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and filarial diseases. The grant will be starting this year and be disbursed over five years.
[July 2016]
As the International AIDS Conference kicks off in Durban, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) has released an update on its efforts to develop optimal child-adapted antiretroviral formulations. This document details some recent progress towards its final goal of developing ‘4-in-1’ fixed-dose combinations using the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended treatment regimen for infants and young children. DNDi’s update also discusses some promising developments for treatment for children living with both HIV and tuberculosis (TB).
DNDi and its partner Epichem are pleased to announce that the Australian Tropical Medicine Commercialisation Grants Programme (ATMCG), with the support of Australia’s Trade and Investment Ministry (AusTrade), are providing $250,000 for a project which is focused on developing new treatments for leishmaniasis. The name of the project is: “Novel compounds for the treatment of Leishmaniasis in humans and animals,” which will be led by PharmAust Limited’s (ASX:PAA) subsidiary Epichem in partnership with DNDi.
At the 69th WHA, Member States were asked to consider the outcomes of the Open-Ended Meeting and continue discussions on issues related to monitoring, coordination and financing for health research.
Michelle Childs, DNDi‘s Head of Policy Advocacy, delivered the following statement on behalf of DNDi.
Access to effective treatment is central in the fight against malaria. The recently published PREGACT study has shown that artemisinin-based combination therapies are effective in pregnant women with malaria in Africa, without the safety concerns of other treatment types. Another success for malaria treatment comes with the World Health Organization’s announcement that the fixed-dose combination of artesunate+mefloquine (ASMQ) shelf-life has been extended from two to three years, which will greatly help with storage and distribution.
Dr Jorge Alvar, Head of Leishmaniasis, DNDi, and Dr Javier Moreno, Director of WHO Collaborating Center for Leishmaniasis, announce a call for papers on Leishmaniasis for the PLOS WorldLeish-6 Collection. See the PLOS article, calling for papers for the PLOS WorldLeish 6 Collection, as it appeared on the PLOS Blog.
DNDi, Pharco, and the Ministry of Health Malaysia announced today at the International Liver Congress in Barcelona, Spain, that they signed agreements to test an affordable hepatitis C regimen in Malaysia and Thailand. The treatment, a potentially pan-genotypic combination of ravidasvir and sofosbuvir, will be tested in Malaysia and Thailand with a target price of under $300. DNDi also released its hepatitis C R&D Strategy as well as infographics to explain why there are so many neglected hepatitis C patients.
GHIT awarded US$687,715 to a partnership between GeneDesign, a Japan-based biotech, and DNDi to develop a better treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis.