Our R&D portfolio for sleeping sickness

Sleeping sickness

Our R&D portfolio for sleeping sickness

What we have achieved

We have revolutionized the treatment of sleeping sickness, replacing toxic, cumbersome medicines with a simple all-oral cure.

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Treatment Delivered

Fexinidazole for T.b. gambiense

An all-new, all-oral patient-friendly treatment. Approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2018, DNDi’s first ‘new chemical entity’ cures the most common form of sleeping sickness in just 10 days of simple, 1-pill-per-day treatment.

Treatment Delivered

Fexinidazole for T.b. rhodesiense

Less common – but more severe. We evaluated fexinidazole to treat the less common T.b. rhodesiense strain of sleeping sickness found in Eastern and Southern Africa. A safe and effective alternative to current drugs, it was approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2023.

Treatment Delivered

Nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT)

The first improved treatment for sleeping sickness. Before DNDi delivered nifurtimox and eflornithine combination therapy in 2009, doctors often had no choice but to treat sleeping sickness with melarsoprol, a highly toxic, arsenic-based drug that killed 1 in 20 patients.

What we are doing for people living with sleeping sickness

We are working towards reaching the last cases of sleeping sickness. Through our HAT Platform, a multi-country clinical research network, we continue to train local researchers and conduct clinical trials in remote and conflict-affected areas to develop even better tools to prevent resurgence.

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Building capacity, uniting expertise

Research platforms and consortiums that bring together researchers and strengthen research capacities in low- and middle-income countries are central to our virtual R&D model.

Partnering for patients

Collaboration is an essential part of how we work. We have forged a diverse range of alliances and research collaborations with over 200 partners in nearly 50 countries.

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

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

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

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

Doctor with young patient in hospital setting

Dengue

Rapidly spreading climate-sensitive disease with no specific treatment

We’re building a global partnership with dengue-endemic countries to develop a first treatment

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

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

Woman standing in front of her door house in a rural village in Sudan

Mycetoma

Often ends in amputation, after people get infected from stepping on a thorn

We conducted the world’s first trial for an alternative to current treatments, which are toxic and difficult to administer

Mother holding her baby in her arms smiling

Paediatric HIV

Without treatment, half of children die before their second birthday

We’ve developed a strawberry-flavoured treatment to meet the needs of children long neglected by the global HIV response

Pandemic Preparedness

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified global health inequalities

We’re bringing together partners and accelerating research to prepare for future viral pandemics in low-resource settings