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Home > Diseases
leishmaniasis icon

Visceral leishmaniasis

Developing a new generation of treatments for one of the world’s leading parasitic killers

Home > Diseases
leishmaniasis icon

Visceral leishmaniasis

Developing a new generation of treatments for one of the world’s leading parasitic killers

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

We delivered four new treatments using existing drugs to make treatment shorter, safer, and more effective. We are now working to revolutionize the standard of care, advancing an unprecedented portfolio of all-new potential drugs to treat people suffering from all forms of the disease.

Visceral leishmaniasis – also known as kala-azar – causes fever, weight loss, spleen and liver enlargement, and, if not treated, death. HIV infection increases the severity of the disease, heightening people’s risk of dying from visceral leishmaniasis.

Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) – a complication of visceral leishmaniasis that appears as a rash or skin condition months or years after successful visceral leishmaniasis treatment – is not deadly but can be disfiguring and stigmatizing.

In some regions affected by visceral leishmaniasis, treatments are poorly tolerated and lengthy, and can be toxic, painful, and costly.

Warning sign
fatal if left untreated
0 %
Icon people
new cases each year
– 90,000
Icon child
of people infected with visceral leishmaniasis are children
0 %
Icon HIV
The risk of developing active visceral leishmaniasis is more than 100 times greater in people living with HIV
more than 0 x
Download factsheet
see disease facts

‘The fever is too much. The headache is too much. There’s pain all over. I was started on treatment and it was another hell.’

Luke Kanyang’areng’ was diagnosed with leishmaniasis 30 years ago. Today, he’s the nursing officer in charge of the same facility where his life was saved. His hope for leishmaniasis is to have oral, simple treatments for his patients.

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What we have achieved

We have delivered new treatments using existing drugs to make treatments shorter, safer and more effective.


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Treatment Delivered

SSG&PM (East Africa)

Shorter, more affordable treatment. DNDi-led clinical trials showed a combination of sodium stibogluconate (SSG) and paromomycin was safe and as effective as treatment with SSG alone. The more affordable combination is easier for patients and cuts treatment time by nearly half.

icon-treatments
Treatment Delivered

New VL treatments (Latin America)

Safe and shorter treatment for VL patients. In Brazil, DNDi collaborated with partners to implement a large clinical trial to assess a new combination therapy against current treatments. Liposomal amphotericin B was shown to be efficacious and safer for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis patients in Brazil.

icon-treatments
Treatment Delivered

New treatments for VL/HIV

New hope for a deadly co-infection. Studies conducted by DNDi, Médecins Sans Frontières, and partners in Ethiopia and India showed that a combination of miltefosine and liposomal amphotericin B had high efficacy rates for treating visceral leishmaniasis in people living with HIV.

icon-treatments
Treatment Delivered

New VL treatments (South Asia)

Overcoming drug resistance and severe side effects. A DNDi-led consortium identified new combinations with cure rates above 95% to replace treatments with severe side effects or poor efficacy due to drug resistance. Trials generated the key evidence needed for policy change in South Asia.

What we’re doing for people with visceral leishmaniasis

We are working to deliver better combination treatments and new drugs. Together with our partners, we have built an unprecedented portfolio of six new chemical classes, with different mechanisms of action against Leishmania parasites.

Read more in our Annual Report
SEE TARGET PRODUCT PROFILE

The long-term goal: entirely new, oral drugs

Our goal is to radically transform therapy by developing patient-friendly, simple oral therapies that are short, affordable, safe and effective in children and adults in all regions. A novel consortium bringing together pharmaceutical industry, academia, research institutes, and PDPs is building an unprecedented portfolio of promising drug candidates.

 

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Translational research

LXE408 Novartis for visceral leishmaniasis

A potential new oral treatment for visceral leishmaniasis. DNDi and Novartis initiated a collaboration and licence agreement to jointly develop LXE408 – a first-in-class compound, discovered at Novartis with financial support from Wellcome.

Translational research

DNDI-6174

DNDi is developing DNDI-6174 as a new chemical entity for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis with the aim of bringing an additional entity with a novel mechanism of action to the visceral leishmaniasis portfolio, and potentially for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Clinical trials

Miltefosine + Paromomycin combination (Africa)

Based on the good efficacy of the miltefosine and paromomycin combination therapy in South Asia, and on the need for an alternative and safer treatment to replace sodium stibogluconate, a Phase III study was launched in 2018 to compare a combination regimens of miltefosine and paromomycin against the current standard treatment.

Clinical trials

New treatments for PKDL (South Asia)

PKDL could jeopardize elimination efforts. Based on studies in India and Bangladesh, we have shown that PKDL patients can infect sandflies, potentially sustaining the cycle of transmission. Early treatment of PKDL patients is a critical component of visceral leishmaniasis public health and elimination strategies.

Clinical trials

New treatments for PKDL (Eastern Africa)

DNDi’s Phase II study in Sudan has demonstrated the suitability of two combination treatments as safe, effective, shorter treatments for patients with PKDL. The World Health Organization and the ministries of health in the endemic countries are reviewing the evidence to update their respective treatment recommendation guidelines.

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Visceral leishmaniasis news & resources

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News
Press releases
Publications
Scientific articles
Stories
Videos
Viewpoints
Two man outside of a hospital talking with a nurse
Press releases
24 Apr 2025

Liverpool clinical trial aims to advance life-changing treatment for a deadly parasitic disease

Woman walking in a laboratory
Press releases
23 Apr 2025

DNDi welcomes GHIT support for new project with three Japanese universities to find drug candidates for Chagas disease

Publications
14 Mar 2025

Open Synthesis Network factsheet

Scientific articles
11 Mar 2025

Unsupervised machine learning identifies biomarkers of disease progression in post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis in Sudan

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
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

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

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

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

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

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 

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

Healthcare workers in a hospital

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

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

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

Chagas disease

Cryptococcal meningitis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis

Dengue

Filaria: river blindness

Hepatitis C

Mycetoma

Paediatric HIV

Pandemic Preparedness

Sleeping sickness

Visceral leishmaniasis

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