Objective: Develop and register acoziborole as a single-dose, oral treatment for children with Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleeping sickness caused by T.b.gambiense

Project start: 2020

ACOZI-KIDS logo

The project, known as ACOZI-KIDS, aims to:

  • Assess a paediatric indication of acoziborole – a single-dose, oral treatment for Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleeping sickness caused by  T.b. gambiense  –  for children aged between 1 and 14 years old in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea
  • Disseminate the study results to facilitate the treatment of T.b. gambiense sleeping sickness in children

ACOZI-KIDS aims to make treatment of children with sleeping sickness much simpler. Giving an oral single-dose treatment at the point of diagnosis would avoid the need for costly hospitalisation in specialised health centres, painful lumbar punctures, and treatment using injections. As a result, it would be easier for children to complete the treatment and shorten the delay between diagnosis and effective treatment, which could contribute to stopping disease progression and avoid neurological disorders in this population.

The ACOZI-KIDS project brings together a consortium of European and African experts: DNDi, the National Control Programmes for Human African Trypanosomiasis (PNLTHA) of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea, Epicentre, the Research Institute for Development (IRD), and the Nova University of Lisbon/Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT/NOVA). Local health care staff will be trained in the management of paediatric patients, which will strengthen the public health system for diagnosing and treating sleeping sickness.

Project update

2022

The first child participating in the clinical trial was treated for sleeping sickness on 15 July in Bandundu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nine children aged between 11 and 14 years have been treated so far, each receiving 640 mg of acoziborole. The pharmacokinetic data from these first patients will be analysed to confirm or adapt the dosing regimen for younger patients, aged between 1 and 14.

Funding

This project (grant RIA2019PD) is part of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership Association (EDCTP2) programme supported by the European Union.

EDCTP logo
Supported by the European Union

Other funding:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Norwegian Government logo
UK aid logo