Call for drug discovery or development for neglected diseases

The DNDi project is calling for applications from interested parties to discover or develop drugs for three of the most neglected communicable diseases - sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for-profit organisation whose goal is to develop effective, safe, affordable and field-adapted drugs to address the needs of patients suffering from the most neglected communicable diseases. DNDi acts in the public interest to bridge the existing gaps in research and development for essential drugs for neglected diseases such as sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.

To complement its growing portfolio, DNDi is inviting letters of interest for drug discovery and drug development projects focusing on human African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.

DNDi will consider all research and development activities likely to lead to new treatments for the neglected diseases mentioned in the present call. Involvement with industry, in particular biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies is encouraged and DNDi is prepared to help to facilitate this process.

Deadline is March 18.

Sleeping Sickness
Sleeping sickness threatens over 60 million people in 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa including DRC, Angola, Cameroon, Uganda, and southern Sudan. Fewer than four million have access to diagnosis and treatment. The disease was adequately controlled in the 1960s but has made a comeback in the isolated and marshy regions of sub-Saharan Africa due to years of conflict, population movements, and lack of human and financial resources

Sleeping sickness is notoriously difficult to treat. Pentamidine isethionate, suramin, melarsoprol, and eflornithine are registered for the treatment of the disease, but these drugs are scarce, toxic, and encounter parasite resistance.

Chagas Disease
The disease is transmitted to humans by blood-sucking insects. The infected insect deposits faeces on the person's skin, which can then be accidentally rubbed into the bite wound, eyes, or mouth.

A widespread parasitic disease, American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease kills an estimated 50,000 people annually on the American continent. The disease particularly afflicts the poor. An estimated 18 million people are living with the parasite in their blood and about 100 million people are at risk of infection in 21 Central and South American countries.

Nifurtimox and Benznidazole are the only existing drugs to treat Chagas disease. Neither is considered ideal because of: (a) low effectiveness in the chronic phase of the disease; (b) significant regional variations in efficacy due to naturally resistant T.cruzi strains (c) high rate of patient evasion due to drug side effects; (d) long period of treatment (30-60 days); (e) need for monitoring under specialized medical supervision.

Leishmaniasis (kala azar)
Most people in western countries have never heard of visceral leishmaniasis or kala-azar, (Hindi for “black fever”) but in some parts of the world, the disease is feared. Kala-azar is fatal.

Kala-azar persists today in very poor, remote, and sometimes politically unstable areas, where health care is extremely hard to come by and patients have little access to affordable drugs and preventive measures. The disease is endemic in 88 countries, where 350 million people are at risk of infection.

The most commonly used drug against kala-azar, pentavalent antimony (sodium stibogluconate), has been the cornerstone of therapy worldwide for more than 70 years. It has to be administered through a drip and is painful, toxic, with dangerous side effects, and can be fatal. In addition, this medicine is no longer effective against the disease in large parts of India.

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for-profit organisation established in partnership with MSF, Fiocruz in Brazil, the Indian Council of Medical Research, Institut Pasteur in France, the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, and the Kenya Medical Research Institute, with WHO/TDR as a permanent observer. Its goal is to develop effective, safe, affordable and field-adapted drugs to address the needs of patients suffering from the most neglected communicable diseases. DNDi acts in the public interest to bridge the existing gaps in research and development for essential drugs for neglected diseases such as sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.