Visceral leishmaniasis

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.

fatal if left untreated

0 %

new cases each year

– 90,000

of people infected with visceral leishmaniasis are children

0 %

The risk of developing active visceral leishmaniasis is more than 100 times greater in people living with HIV

more than 0 x

‘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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.