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Home > Research and development > Portfolio

Filaria: river blindness 

Oxfendazole

Home > Research and development > Portfolio

Filaria: river blindness

Oxfendazole

objective

Advance the clinical development of oxfendazole as an anti-parasitic macrofilaricidal treatment

project start
2019

current phase of drug development

Discovery project phase
Drug Discovery
Translation project phase
Translational research
clinical trials icon
Clinical trials
Treatment Access
Registration & access

updated 21 Feb 2025

Screening of drug libraries obtained from biotech and pharmaceutical companies, along with active screening of the literature, identified oxfendazole, a veterinary product used for deworming in animals, as a potential macrofilaricidal treatment for river blindness.

Based on highly encouraging pre-clinical data on the efficacy of oxfendazole, DNDi is evaluating the use of oxfendazole for filarial infections.

Project updates

2024

The eWHORM partnership started a Phase II proof-of-concept adaptive basket trial of oxfendazole following a favourable review of the trial protocol from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The study is examining the safety and efficacy of oxfendazole in treating multiple helminthic diseases, including onchocerciasis, loiasis, mansonellosis, and soil-transmitted helminthic infections. The innovative design of the trial aims to expedite drug development, improve trial efficiency, optimize resource utilization, and enable swifter access to improved treatments for patients with helminthic infections.

2023

The HELP Consortium’s successful efforts have demonstrated the safety of our field-adapted oxfendazole formulation in a Phase I trial performed by partners Swiss TPH and Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, opening the path to advance oxfendazole to the next stage of clinical evaluation. The newly established eWHORM partnership is now designing a Phase II proof-of-concept adaptive basket trial  for oxfendazole, targeting river blindness and several other helminth infections. This innovative trial design aims to expedite drug development, improve trial efficiency, optimize resource utilization, and ultimately enable swifter access to improved treatments for patients.

2022

All regulatory approvals were obtained for the Phase I study in Tanzania, sponsored by Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and conducted by the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. The Phase I clinical trial assessing the bioavailability of oxfendazole was initiated and final follow-up visits were completed for the first two patient cohorts. Two safety review committee meetings were held, and no safety concerns were noted.

2021

In 2021, we began preparing for a Phase I trial to test the bioavailability of an oxfendazole tablet that is field adapted and easy to use. The trial will be sponsored by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and conducted by the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. 

2020

No serious adverse events occurred in the single ascending dose or multiple ascending dose studies (NCT02234570 and NCT03035760, clinicaltrial.gov) conducted by the Oxfendazole Development Group under the auspices of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Based on the data in healthy volunteers, oxfendazole applied orally in a liquid formulation was safe and well tolerated at doses up to 60 mg/kg and showed acceptable safety and tolerability profiles after five repeated daily doses of up to 15 mg/kg, with a few reports of non-serious adverse events in the two studies. There was no increase in adverse events with an increased dose.

Therefore, the available data suggest that oxfendazole is safe for use in humans and a Phase I bioavailability study is planned using a solid, field-adapted tablet. With recently obtained funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the HELP Consortium will conduct a bioavailability Phase I trial in Tanzania to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of the tablet.

2019

DNDi developed a field-adapted tablet. 

eWHORM and HELP Consortium: two international networks to speed up elimination of worm infections

Launched in 2023, eWHORM is a consortium of research institutes, universities, and not‑for-profit organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe working together to establish a new adaptive clinical trial platform and improve the clinical research infrastructure for various soil-transmitted helminths and filarial worms in several Sub-Saharan Africa countries. eWHORM is coordinated by the University Hospital Bonn, Germany.

Members: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, DNDi, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Eurice – European Research and Project Office GmbH, Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale (INRB), Lambaréné Medical Research Center, Medical University of Vienna, Swiss TPH, University Hospital Bonn, University of Buea

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Launched in 2019, the Helminth Elimination Platform (HELP) led by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) convenes key players in research and development for filarial diseases. The multidisciplinary consortium works to identify new treatments against nematode worms, including onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, hookworm, and whipworm.

Members: Swiss TPH, DNDi, University Hospital Bonn, University of Buea, Ifakara Health Institute, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Bayer Animal Health GmbH (an Elanco company), Celgene Global Health

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News & resources

  • 8 August 2024 – The long and winding road towards new treatments against lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, Trends in Parasitology
  • 21 November 2023 – 코오롱생명과학, 국제 소외질환신약개발재단과 ‘회선사상충’ 개발 협약, The Chosun Ilbo
  • 21 November 2023 – DNDi, 소외계층 신약 개발 파트너로 코오롱생명과학 택한 이유는, E Daily
  • 7 April 2023 – eWHORM project launched to eliminate worm infections in Sub Saharan Africa
  • 19 October 2022 – Comparison of the macrofilaricidal efficacy of oxfendazole and its isomers against the rodent filaria Litomosoides sigmodontis, Frontiers in Tropical Diseases
  • 6 July 2020 – Oxfendazole mediates macrofilaricidal efficacy against the filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis in vivo and inhibits Onchocerca spec. motility in vitro, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Partners

  • Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin (BNITM), Germany
  • Erasmus MC, The Netherlands
  • Eurice – European Research and Project Office GmbH, Germany
  • Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania
  • Indian Council of Medical Research, India
  • Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), DRC
  • Lambaréné Medical Research Center (CERMEL), Gabon
  • Medical University of Vienna, Austria
  • Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France
  • Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research, UK
  • Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Switzerland
  • University Hospital Bonn, Germany
  • University Hospital Bonn, Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Germany
  • University of Buea, Cameroon
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  • Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin (BNITM)
  • ,Germany
  • Erasmus MC
  • ,The Netherlands
  • Eurice – European Research and Project Office GmbH
  • ,Germany
  • Ifakara Health Institute
  • ,Tanzania
  • Indian Council of Medical Research
  • ,India
  • Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB)
  • ,DRC
  • Lambaréné Medical Research Center (CERMEL)
  • ,Gabon
  • Medical University of Vienna
  • ,Austria
  • Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
  • ,France
  • Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research
  • ,UK
  • Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)
  • ,Switzerland
  • University Hospital Bonn
  • ,Germany
  • University Hospital Bonn, Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology
  • ,Germany
  • University of Buea
  • ,Cameroon
  • Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France
  • Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research, UK
  • Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Switzerland
  • Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania
  • University of Buea, Cameroon
  • Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), DRC
  • Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin (BNITM), Germany
  • Erasmus MC, The Netherlands
  • University Hospital Bonn, Germany
  • Medical University of Vienna, Austria
  • Lambaréné Medical Research Center (CERMEL), Gabon
  • Eurice – European Research and Project Office GmbH, Germany
  • University Hospital Bonn, Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Germany
  • Indian Council of Medical Research, India

Funding

  • Europe - Horizon 2020
  • Germany - Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through KfW
  • Republic of Korea - Research Investment for Global Health Technology Foundation (RIGHT Foundation)
  • Switzerland - Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI)
  • Switzerland - Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
  • UK - UK International Development
  • USA - United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
​
  • Médecins Sans Frontières International
  • Other private foundations and individuals
​

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