Drug development and evaluation for helminths and other neglected tropical diseases

Overview

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) generate morbidity and mortality in poverty-stricken populations. They are regarded as a public health priority for the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO strategy includes:

1. “Innovative and Intensified Disease Management” for diseases for which cost-effective control interventions do not exist for wide-scale use (the so-called “tool-deficient” diseases).
2. “Preventive Chemotherapy and Transmission Control” which uses available drugs often distributed to populations in combination to prevent morbidity and/or reduce transmission (the so-called “tool-ready” diseases)

In either case, few drugs are available and these are under-researched – in general, there is little information on their mechanisms of action, and their dosage regimens are based on insufficient pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data. Furthermore, their extended use carries the risk of drug resistance developing. Therefore, new or improved drugs and more knowledge of the pharmacology and the effects of the use of those currently available is required to support both strategies.

Strategic objectives

These considerations have informed the definition of the strategic objectives of HNR (drug development and evaluation for neglected tropical disease – BL6):

1. Development, registration and field evaluation of new drugs, and
2. Generation of evidence to optimize the use of available drugs for NTDs.