Screening Filarial disease
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
last phase of drug development
updated 29 Feb 2020
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
2019
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.
2017
In 2017, well-characterized libraries of compounds that had been extensively optimized for other indications were provided to DNDi by several pharmaceutical companies for screening. Early screening of 530 compounds has been completed with Salvensis, Merck Sharp & and Dohme, University of Carolina, AbbVie, and others. From this initial screen, a full lead optimization programme has been undertaken in collaboration with Celgene with further exploration of identified hits (505 compounds). This effort will continue through 2018, with the aim of delivering a pre-clinical candidate for filarial diseases.
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