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Home > Diseases
chagas disease icon

Chagas disease

In search of shorter, better treatments to stop a silent killer

Home > Diseases
chagas disease icon

Chagas disease

In search of shorter, better treatments to stop a silent killer

  • Overview
  • Facts
  • Projects & achievements
  • Target product profiles

We developed the first-ever treatment for children and established a research network of over 400 people in 25 countries to advance new treatments and improve patients’ lives. Our teams are now working to develop safer, more effective medicines and to break down barriers to testing and treatment.

There are only two drugs – both discovered half a century ago – available to treat Chagas disease, a potentially fatal parasitic illness transmitted by insects known as ‘kissing bugs’, that hide in cracks in walls and furniture. If not treated, Chagas disease can cause irreversible, life-threatening damage to the heart and other vital organs. Endemic in Latin America and the southern US, it is also present in Europe, Japan, and Australia.

The current treatment for the disease is effective, but lasts eight weeks and sometimes has serious side effects.

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people living with Chagas
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people infected suffer cardiac damage
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‘We need to raise the population’s awareness about Chagas disease and eliminate beliefs and fears about treatment.’

Wilson Fernando Torres works as a specialized professional in technical health public management for the Ministry of Health in the Province of Casanare and is also the physician of reference for Chagas disease in Casanare.
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What we have achieved

We have been active in research and development, and advocacy. Together with a group of concerned investigators, we helped create the Chagas Clinical Research Platform, a network of over 400 people from 25 countries, to utilize and strengthen capacity in endemic countries.

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Treatment Delivered

Paediatric Benznidazole

First-ever treatment for children. With our partners, we developed and registered the first-ever formulations of benznidazole for treating infants and children with Chagas disease.  

What we are doing for people living with Chagas disease

Our goal is to make treatment safer and more effective. We are also working to improve access to testing and treatment. 

Read more in our Annual Report
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Drug discovery

NTD Drug Discovery Booster Hit-to-lead

Joining forces to find new treatments. We are bringing together eight pharmaceutical companies to search millions of compounds, accelerating progress and cutting costs to find new leads for potential drug candidates for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

Registration & access

Chagas Access Project

Boosting access to diagnosis and treatment. Fewer than 10% of people with Chagas know they have the disease. We are working with Ministries of Health and a broad range of partners in Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, and elsewhere to expand people’s access to diagnosis and treatment.

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Chagas disease news & resources

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News
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News
25 Jan 2023

It’s time medical innovation reached the 1.7 billion people affected by neglected tropical diseases: World NTD Day 2023

Scientific articles
6 Jan 2023

Collaborative virtual screening identifies a 2-Aryl-4-aminoquinazoline series with efficacy in an in vivo model of Trypanosoma cruzi infection

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Scientific articles
19 Dec 2022

Long-term cardiology outcomes in children after early treatment for Chagas disease, an observational study

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Scientific articles
16 Dec 2022

New metabolic signature for Chagas disease reveals sex steroid perturbation in humans and mice

Heliyon
See all news

Making medical history for neglected patients

We develop urgently needed treatments for neglected patients and ensure they’re affordable, available, and adapted to the communities who need them

Doctor diagnosing a man in a village with his hands on the man's neck

Sleeping sickness

Transmitted by the bite of a tsetse fly and causes severe neurological disorders

We delivered a revolutionary new drug to replace toxic treatments, and have ongoing trials to eliminate this disease

Young boy sitting on a hospital bed being examined by a nurse

Chagas disease

Causes heart and vital organ damage, after people are bitten by blood-sucking bugs

We delivered the first-ever treatment for children; now we’re searching for new drug candidates and working to boost access to care

Girl with skin lesions on her nose

Cutaneous leishmaniasis

Leaves disfiguring, life-long scars that lead to severe social stigma

We’re working to develop safer, shorter treatments for this disabling disease

Young man standing in the street

Hepatitis C

Millions are left without treatment even though effective drugs exist

We’ve delivered a treatment as simple, safe, and effective as the best drugs available today – at a fraction of the cost 

Girl looking over a fence

Visceral leishmaniasis

Is one of the world’s biggest parasitic killers, spread by the bites of sandflies

We’re working to develop a new generation of treatments to replace drugs that are painful, ineffective, and cause side effects

Healthcare workers in a hospital

COVID-19

Devasting and deadly to many, there’s too little research to help the most vulnerable

We’re accelerating research by coordinating clinical trials in low-resource settings and bringing together partners

Father walking in rural village with a cane and holding his son's hand

Filaria: river blindness

Lead to unbearable itching, disfiguring skin lesions, and even blindness

We’re working to develop a safe, effective, and affordable drug for the prevention and treatment of this debilitating disease

Patient medical examination

Cryptococcal meningitis

Without treatment, deadly for thousands of people with advanced HIV

We’re working to improve access to life-saving treatments and developing an easier-to-use formulation

Sleeping sickness

Chagas disease

Cutaneous leishmaniasis

Hepatitis C

Visceral leishmaniasis

COVID-19

Filaria: river blindness

Cryptococcal meningitis

VIEW ALL DISEASES

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