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Filaria: river blindness 

Screening Filarial disease

objective

Identify new drug candidates, by accessing and evaluating registered drugs, pre-clinical and clinical candidates, focused sets and libraries with known anthelminthic activity from animal and human health companies

project status
Completed

last phase of drug development

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

updated 29 Feb 2020

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DNDi’s filarial disease programme actively identifies potential new drug candidates for onchocerciasis by evaluating registered drugs, as well as pre-clinical and clinical drug candidates. DNDi also investigates diverse chemical compounds against filarial worms.

Project updates

With a portfolio of four potential treatments for people with onchocerciasis, DNDi has now ended its active screening programme for filaria. Some 530 compounds have been screened in partnership with Salvensis, Merck Sharp & Dohme, University of North Carolina, AbbVie, and others. In 2019, DNDi announced the launch of a large public-private partnership called the Helminth Elimination Platform (HELP), a new multidisciplinary consortium working to identify new treatments against ‘nematode’ worms, including onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, hookworm, and whipworm.

Partners & service providers

  • AbbVie, USA
  • Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany
  • Celgene (now Bristol Myers Squibb Inc.), USA
  • GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – Spain, Spain
  • Johnson & Johnson, USA
  • Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), Switzerland
  • Merck, USA
  • Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) USA, USA
  • Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research, UK
  • Novartis Centre de la Recherche Santé Animale, Switzerland
  • Salvensis, UK
  • Sanofi Merial (now Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Business Unit), USA
  • University of North Carolina, Office of Technology Development, USA

Funding

  • Germany - Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through KfW
  • Brian Mercer Trust
  • Gates Foundation

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