Chagas R&D

New, Improved Treatments for Chagas Disease: From the R&D Pipeline to the Patients
Isabela Ribeiro et al, 2009

Public Library of Science Journal- Neglected Tropical Diseases

This article discusses the need for new and improved treatments for Chagas disease, and sets up short term, medium term, and long term goals for this process. Shorter term goals include better use of existing treatments through new formulations and expanding access. Longer term goals include development of new drugs. The article discusses the 2 current treatments available (that have been mentioned in previous articles)- nifurtimox and benznidazole. However, these are limited to treating the acute phase of the disease, not the chronic phase. The article mentions that no promising new drugs are expected anytime soon, although according to other articles there is one- Ravuconazole, discovered and developed by Eisai Co.

There are many barriers to developing treatments, including the fact that there is little standardization among the protocols and parasites used by researchers in assays. Thus reproducibility has been difficult to achieve. Few rigorous trials have been conducted in CD, particularly to test drug efficacy in patients with chronic CD, since such patients often do not present any clinical disease manifestation until a very advanced stage. CD research is often deemed “too difficult” by many.

One development to help deal with these issues is the creation of non-profit product development partnerships (PDPs) which work to fill in the gaps for neglected diseases. These PDPs offer a different model, since R&D is no longer financed by a product’s sale price. A PDP is currently working on developing a better CD portfolio to address the needs of patients. They aim to deliver more effective treatment for acute, indeterminate, and chronic CD and are working on a pediatric formulation of benznidazole.


http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000484