2018 Annual reportScroll down to see more!
At the moment my daughter is doing well, the capsules are working good and are easy to use after the nurse showed me how to use them.
An all-oral treatment has been my dream for decades. Less than ten years ago we were still treating this disease with an arsenic derivative that killed 5% of all patients and now we have a treatment that is safe, effective, and simple.
I am very grateful to the health workers for the care and treatment offered to my son. My only worry now is how to control the continuous pain associated with the daily treatment injections.
Since there’s now a treatment, it’s time for those who haven’t taken the test to take it. I tell this to everyone, because health is so important.
Every day, more people are infected than put on treatment. Hepatitis C is the 'silent epidemic' because people are unaware of their infection and go untreated for years. This is the challenge we are addressing.
2018 was a milestone year for DNDi. We celebrated turning 15 by delivering a new sleeping sickness medicine, and seeing our sister organization, the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership, go independent. We also made important progress in the development of other new treatments for neglected patients.
I’ve dedicated my life as a doctor to sleeping sickness. An all-oral treatment has been a dream of mine for decades. Fexinidazole comes as a simple pill: this is a huge leap in how we can tackle this deadly disease.
GARDP’s provenance from WHO and DNDi, and its significant progress in the last three years have positioned it well to play a key role in helping bring new antibacterials to market.
The results indicate that the ravidasvir/sofosbuvir combination is comparable to the very best hepatitis C therapies available today, but it is priced affordably and could allow an alternative option in countries excluded from pharmaceutical company access programmes.
An all-oral treatment has been my dream for decades. Less than ten years ago we were still treating this disease with an arsenic derivative that killed 5% of all patients and now we have a treatment that is safe, effective, and simple.
There is a huge lack of information on the disease that leads to the use of several things to get cured, such as burned oil from cars. The scars are very ugly, so there is lots of stigma and discrimination faced by patients.
Since there’s now a treatment, it’s time for those who haven’t taken the test to take it. I tell this to everyone, because health is so important.
Patients like AbdelLatif are typically from poor, rural areas with limited health care access, so they usually seek diagnosis very late, when the disease is advanced and harder to treat.
At the moment my daughter is doing well, the capsules are working good and are easy to use after the nurse showed me how to use them.
Sometimes I cry all night, sometimes from suffering, sometimes from misery, and sometimes from poverty… my heart hurts from my lack of hope. I live a life of suffering.
Every day, more people are infected than put on treatment. Hepatitis C is the 'silent epidemic' because people are unaware of their infection and go untreated for years. This is the challenge we are addressing.
DNDi works with partners to screen millions of chemical compounds. Promising compounds are evaluated and optimized to produce just one or two drug candidates with potential.
↘DNDi and partners assess drug candidates for safety and develop compounds into medicines that can be given to patients. Drugs are first tested in a small number of healthy volunteers, followed by studies with a small number of patients to establish therapeutic dosing levels.
↘With partners, DNDi conducts large-scale clinical trials with people affected by the disease, to confirm the new drug’s safety and efficacy.
↘DNDi supports dossier preparation for drug regulatory review and national registration, collects additional data on the use of new drugs in every-day clinical contexts, and works with health ministries and affected communities to tackle barriers to accessing treatment.
↘New collaboration to identify drug candidates Details →
Open-source, virtual drug discovery projects gain momentum Details →
Eighth company joins DNDi NTD Drug Booster Details →
Potential new drugs for visceral leishmaniasis progress to Phase I Details →
Emodepside and TylAMac complete Phase I testing Details →
Potential Chagas drug candidate from Daiichi Sankyo project Details →
Hepatitis C drug combination shows 97% cure rate Details →
Better VL treatment combination for East Africa? Details →
Putting the spotlight on PKDL Details →
World's first mycetoma clinical trial reaches interim analysis Details →
Better treatment for HIV/VL co-infection Details →
Shorter Chagas treatment could be just as effective Details →
Enrollment completed for single-dose sleeping sickness treatment Details →
Fexinidazole - paradigm shift for sleeping sickness treatment Details →
‘2-in-1’ formulation for children living with HIV proves effective Details →
Expanding access to Chagas diagnosis & treatment Details →
Supporting Malaysian efforts for hepatitis C screening and treatment Details →
Explore over 40 R&D projects
Read '2018-2019 R&D Programmes in Focus'Leishmaniasis
Filarial diseases
Sleeping sickness
Cutaneous leishmaniasis
Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis
Chagas disease
Mycetoma
Paediatric HIV
Visceral leishmaniasis
Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis
HIV/VL
Hepatitis C
Sleeping sickness
Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis
Paediatric HIV
The Good Clinical Practice training presented me with a chance to not only expand my knowledge and skills but also handle study participants appropriately. It is a positive step towards becoming a globally certified clinical trial expert.
Now, as doctors strengthened capacity, we make better use of the equipment [to do electrocardiograms] and we can reduce the gap between diagnosis and the start of treatment.
2018 Fexinidazole: a paradigm shift for sleeping sickness
First oral cure for all stages of sleeping sickness – shorter, easy-to-use medicine that brings treatment closer to patients and boosts elimination efforts.
In partnership with Sanofi, the Human African Trypanosomiasis Platform, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), national sleeping sickness control programmes, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read more2018 Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership: new entity to fight antimicrobial resistance
Following a three-year incubation by DNDi, the newly independent entity will develop and deliver new or improved antibiotic treatments, and support their sustainable access.
In partnership with the World Health Organization.
Read more2016 More effective treatment for children with HIV who also have tuberculosis
New hope for children co-infected with HIV and TB, after DNDi study shows ‘super-boosting’ an HIV drug means more effective TB treatment.
In partnership with the Department of Health, South Africa
Read more2011 Easier and safer treatment for children with Chagas disease
The first age-adapted paediatric dosage forms to make treatment of infants and children easier and safer.
In partnership with LAFEPE in 2011, and with Fundación Mundo Sano and Insud/Exeltis/Laboratorio ELEA PHOENIX for a second source in 2018
Read more2011 New VL treatments in South Asia
New combination treatments to fend off resistance, improve patient care and support disease elimination.
In partnership with South Asian health ministries, research institutes, NGOs, and WHO’s Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases
Read more2010 A new VL combination in East Africa
SSG&PM shown to be as safe and effective as the previous treatment, reducing treatment length by half and allowing more patients to be treated during outbreaks.
In partnership with the Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP), national leishmaniasis control programmes, MSF, and WHO
Read more2009 NECT: Safer, shorter treatment for sleeping sickness
The first new treatment for sleeping sickness in 25 years finally ends the use of an arsenic-based derivative that kills 1 in 20 patients.
In partnership with MSF, Epicentre, national sleeping sickness control programmes, and WHO
Read more2008 ASMQ: a new combination treatment for malaria
Thanks to a South-South technology transfer between Brazil and India, this new affordable, patent-free antimalarial has simplified malaria treatment.
In partnership with Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz and Cipla
Read more2007 ASAQ: a new combination to simplify malaria treatment
More than 500 million treatments of this affordable, patent-free antimalarial have been distributed since 2007.
In partnership with Sanofi
Read moreFexinidazole: a paradigm shift for sleeping sickness
Read moreGlobal Antibiotics Research & Development Partnership: new entity to fight antimicrobial resistance
Read moreMore effective treatment for children with HIV who also have tuberculosis
Read moreEasier and safer treatment for children with Chagas disease
Read moreNew VL treatments in South Asia
Read moreA new VL combination in East Africa
Read moreNECT: Safer, shorter treatment for sleeping sickness
Read moreASMQ: a new combination treatment for malaria
Read moreASAQ: a new combination to simplify malaria treatment
Read moreNorth America
In 2018, DNDi North America continued its collaboration with the Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease in Los Angeles, publishing several joint articles describing barriers to access and models of care for people with Chagas, and supported DNDi’s global efforts to increase access to diagnosis and treatment, particularly in the Americas. In addition, the office garnered significant global media coverage of the approval of fexinidazole for sleeping sickness. In October, the office held a special event in New York City in celebration of DNDi’s 15-year anniversary, which raised awareness and funds for DNDi. Targeted advocacy was also carried out in the US, Canada, and the UN to advance policies that enable needs-driven R&D and affordable treatment access.
Latin America
In 2018, the Latin America office completed two clinical studies for Chagas disease – one evaluating different benznidazole regimens in Bolivia and the other assessing the efficacy of fexinidazole – and completed patient enrollment in a clinical study on cutaneous leishmaniasis in Colombia and Peru. New projects were launched to increase access to Chagas diagnosis and treatment in Guatemala and Brazil, following the success of pilot projects in Colombia. DNDi also announced a collaboration with Insud Pharma and Pharco to increase access to affordable hepatitis C treatment in Latin America. The office also established official relations with the Pan-American Health Organization to strengthen collaborative efforts on these diseases as well as on innovation and access policies in the region and supported GARDP’s global observational study of newborns with sepsis.
East Africa
In 2018, the Africa office supported implementation of clinical trials in leishmaniasis – with two new trials starting for shorter and simpler treatment for VL and for PKDL – as well as ongoing trials for mycetoma and HIV. The office also supported GARDP’s first clinical trial on the use of the antibiotic fosfomycin in newborns with sepsis. In October, more than 400 participants from 150 institutions in 40 countries joined DNDi for its 11th Partners Meeting in Kampala, Uganda on collaboration and R&D innovation. The Nairobi office also organized a Health Science Journalism Workshop for 18 journalists from 11 African countries, a first for DNDi in our objective to raise the profile of neglected patients’ needs. In addition, the office upgraded its quality standards ISO certification to the new ISO 9001:2015.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The highlight for 2018 for the Kinshasa project office was the approval in the DRC of fexinidazole, the first oral treatment for sleeping sickness, a mere 39 days after the drug received a positive scientific opinion from the European Medicines Agency. The office also supported ongoing clinical studies in the DRC and Guinea testing both fexinidazole and acoziborole, as well as steering the Human African Trypanosomiasis Platform - EANETT Joint Scientific meeting in Uganda.
Southern Africa
The joint DNDi-GARDP office continued to strengthen its collaborative efforts with the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). SAMRC provided 4 million Rand (~240,000 EUR) to further GARDP’s activities in South Africa to deliver affordable, new or improved antibiotic treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections, beginning with neonatal sepsis and sexually-transmitted infections. GARDP launched a global observational study of babies with sepsis, with three South African sites, to guide development of new and improved antibiotic treatments for newborns. Recruitment of a team to provide support to the launch and execution of clinical trials in South Africa was also completed.
South Asia
DNDi in India continues to support the Indian National Kala-azar Elimination Programme in building capacity to diagnose VL and PKDL, and by gathering evidence needed to respond to threats to the sustainable elimination of VL in the region. In 2018, DNDi in India partnered with MSF on a study for better treatment of HIV/VL co-infection in Bihar and completed recruitment for a clinical trial for shorter and safer PKDL treatments. The office also hosted the launch of GARDP’s global observational study to collect clinical information on treatment of babies with sepsis, to guide the development of new and improved antibiotic treatments for newborns.
South-East Asia
DNDi’s Malaysia office supports the Malaysian Ministry of Health to enhance the country’s public health approach to hepatitis C and in 2018 partnered with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to support the national plan to decentralize hepatitis C testing and treatment. The office has played a key role in DNDi’s Phase II/III clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of a ravidasvir/ sofusbuvir combination to treat hepatitis C and presented the positive interim results to national stakeholders in Malaysia and Thailand in 2018. In addition, the office supported GARDP’s global observational study of newborns with sepsis.
Japan
In 2018, key partnerships were secured with Japanese pharmaceutical partners: Astellas and Daiichi Sankyo RD Novare joined ongoing or new DNDi drug discovery projects, with support from Japan’s GHIT Fund, and a new screening project to discover potential compounds against antimicrobial-resistant bacteria was launched with Eisai and Takeda. Ongoing partnerships saw progress: a new drug candidate for VL, developed by Takeda with GHIT support, advanced into pre-clinical development. And DNDi’s Tokyo office supported the launch of JAGntd, a Japanese NTD network to promote Japan’s contribution to the global effort to control and eliminate NTDs.
How we worked in 2018:Collaborating, sharing our research, and preserving scientific independence
Some of the simple operating principles on which DNDi was established 15 years ago remain key to our work today: foster innovative, collaborative partnerships; promote the open sharing of research; and ensure diversified funding sources to preserve scientific independence, including alternative forms of support.
DNDi goes beyond the required audited financial statements in providing additional key financial performance indicators on expenditures and contributions.
Read financial statementsA word of thanks
DNDi has now delivered eight new treatments for neglected patients and aims to deliver another eight to ten in the next five years, for a total of 16-18 new treatments by 2023. DNDi is deeply grateful for the support of all its donors and partners, and for their commitment and collaboration since 2003.
Read the full list of donors Read the list of main R&D partners
