The non-profit medical research organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) welcomes the financial support of the Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund for a new drug discovery collaboration with three Japanese universities – Kitasato University, Nagasaki University, and the University of Tokyo – to identity drug candidates for Chagas disease using a natural product chemistry approach. Approximately JPY 15.9 million (Approximately EUR 100,000) has been allocated for the project.
The World Health Organization estimates that 6 million people are currently living with Chagas, a potentially life-threatening neglected tropical disease with limited and largely suboptimal therapeutic options.
Over the 18-month project that was started in March 2025, Kitasato University, Nagasaki University, the University of Tokyo, and DNDi will utilize their expertise to identify at least five novel compounds derived from natural products with the potential to become medicines against Chagas. These compounds, derived from a collection of microbial extracts, will be screened against Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas.
The natural product drug candidates will also be assessed for their activity against the Leishmania donovani parasite to verify their potential for development into drugs to treat visceral leishmaniasis, another neglected disease for which safe, effective, patient-friendly treatments are lacking.
So far, most discovery programmes for novel lead compounds to find treatments for Chagas have relied upon screening compounds derived through synthetic chemistry. Natural products derived from microbial origin have rarely been used because of the need to undergo a complicated process of repeated purification and evaluation that requires specific drug discovery expertise. The new project’s main distinguishing feature is its use of samples from previously unexplored microbial origins.
Kitasato University will be responsible for overall project coordination and natural product extraction and purification.
Nagasaki University will be responsible for coevaluating microbial cultured broths, purified fractions, and isolated pure compounds against Trypanosomia cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas.
The University of Tokyo will be responsible for evaluating the pure compounds isolated by Kitasato University for their activity against Leishmania donovani, the parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis.
DNDi will contribute to this project on a fully in-kind basis, providing support for project initiation, data analysis, hit prioritization, and potential further development.
Chagas disease is an important public health problem in 21 endemic countries of Latin America and an increasing concern in other, previously non-endemic countries due to globalization and migration. Drugs currently available for the treatment of Chagas have significant drawbacks that limit their use, including long treatment periods (60-90 days), high treatment drop-out rates due to serious side effects, and a lack of proven efficacy in people with severe chronic symptoms. There is no vaccine available to date. New, shorter, patient-friendly oral medicines with high levels of efficacy and safety are therefore urgently needed.
About DNDi
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for-profit medical research organization that discovers, develops, and delivers safe, effective, and affordable treatments for neglected people. DNDi is developing medicines for sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, river blindness, mycetoma, dengue, paediatric HIV, advanced HIV disease, cryptococcal meningitis, and hepatitis C. Its research priorities include children’s health, gender equity and gender-responsive R&D, and diseases impacted by climate change. Since its creation in 2003, DNDi has joined with public and private partners across the globe to deliver thirteen new treatments, saving millions of lives. dndi.org
About Kitasato University
Kitasato University was established in 1962 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kitasato Institute, honoring Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato, the university’s founding father—a pioneering bacteriologist who successfully cultivated the tetanus bacillus and established serum therapy.
The university continues to uphold his legacy in advancing medical and life sciences. It comprises nine faculties, eight graduate schools, three hospitals, two vocational schools, and one research institute.
Guided by the spirit of practical science, Kitasato University is dedicated to applying the knowledge and skills gained through research to real-world challenges, fostering the next generation of leaders who contribute to society.
This commitment is exemplified by Distinguished Emeritus Professor Satoshi Ōmura, who was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his groundbreaking work in natural product drug discovery.
About Nagasaki University
Nagasaki University traces its roots back to a series of medical lectures, the first ever given in Japan, delivered by Dutch Naval doctor J. L. C. Pompe van Meerdevoort in 1857. After experiencing devastation by the atomic bombing, it reopened as a university of five faculties and one research institute in 1949, in a merger of several educational institutions of different academic disciplines. Currently, Nagasaki University is a comprehensive university consisting of ten faculties and eight research institutes (including an interfaculty program). Guided by its core philosophy, “Nagasaki University contributes to the improvement of a well-balanced society by transmitting its inheritance of the traditional culture rooted in Nagasaki, cultivating a fertile creative sense in students, and developing innovative science for world peace.” With the aim of becoming a global center for education and research in Planetary Health, the university promotes education, research, and social contribution. nagasaki-u.ac.jp/
Media contacts
In Tokyo
Yoko Noda
+81 70 4465 5453
ynoda@dndi.org
In Geneva
Frédéric Ojardias
+41 79 431 6216
fojardias@dndi.org
Photo credit: Xavier Vahed-DNDi
