Projects
Phosphodiesterase inhibitors for the treatment of neglected diseases
A total budget of nearly 3.6 million euros has been allocated for a period of 4 years, to develop effective drugs for the diseases African sleeping sickness and Leishmaniasis, which affect millions of people worldwide.
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 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.”
African sleeping sickness
WHO estimates indicate that approximately 60 million people are at risk of contracting the African sleeping sickness (also called human African trypanosomiasis) with an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 new cases occurring each year. The disease appears in 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and is endemic in south-east Uganda and western Kenya, killing more than 40,000 Africans each year. The African sleeping sickness parasite, most commonly Trypanosoma brucei, is transmitted to humans by tsetse fly bites.
Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis is found in many tropical and sub-tropical countries, in settings as diverse as the rainforests in Central and South America to deserts in Asia and the Middle East. 350 million people are at risk of developing the disease, with as many as 12 million people worldwide being infected, and 1.5–2 million new cases occurring each year. Leishmaniasis presents in cutaneous, visceral and mucosal forms, with the visceral form of the disease alone having an estimated incidence of 500,000 new cases each year, and causing 60,000 deaths. Many different Leishmania species are implicated in the disease, which is transmitted by sand flies.
Partners: IOTA Pharmaceuticals, Mercachem, Nycomed, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute, University of Bern, and VU University Amsterdam
Full project title: Phosphodiesterase inhibitors for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases
Other relevant information:
19 08 09 Interview Rob Leurs - Radio Nederland Wereldomroep
17 08 09 Press release: New consortium to develop drugs for neglected tropical diseases