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New consortium to develop drugs for neglected tropical diseases

Two deadly diseases, African sleeping sickness and Leishmaniasis, which affect millions of people worldwide are going to be treated by a new consortium that has been formed to boost drug development.

A new consortium has been formed to boost drug development for the treatment of two deadly diseases, African sleeping sickness and Leishmaniasis, which affect millions of people worldwide. A total budget of nearly 3.6 million euros has been allocated over the next 4 years, to develop effective drugs for these diseases. The consortium includes IOTA Pharmaceuticals, Mercachem, Nycomed, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, the Royal Tropical Institute, the University of Bern, the VU University Amsterdam and TI Pharma.

Rob Leurs (VU University Amsterdam), the project’s principal investigator, comments: “African sleeping sickness and Leishmaniasis are diseases caused by parasites. Both diseases are prominent on the World Health Organization’s list of neglected tropical diseases for which no effective medication is available.” The new consortium will target parasite-specific phosphodiesterase to develop and screen drug candidates for clinical evaluation and the treatment of both diseases. Leurs continues: “This new project combines the knowledge and experience of leading European laboratories and promises to make a major contribution to the treatment of neglected tropical diseases.”

For more information on TI Pharma’s projects on neglected diseases, please visit www.tipharma.com/research/priority-medicines/neglected-diseases.

Please contact Ingeborg van der Heijden: + 31 71 3322036 for more information about the project.


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