Imagine trying to stop a fire, but you have to spend hours checking every single room with complex tools before you're allowed to use a fire extinguisher. This project replaces that slow process with a simple test and a single-dose pill that is safe enough to give to anyone who tests positive. By removing the need for painful spinal taps and long lab waits, they can treat more people and stop the disease from spreading.
Current sleeping sickness treatment requires complex, invasive diagnostics like lumbar punctures, leading to 50% of cases remaining untreated. This creates a persistent human reservoir that prevents the total elimination of the disease.
A validated 'screen & treat' operational model and a comprehensive costing analysis for the use of acoziborole in rural settings.
If you are a drug developer dealing with low patient adherence due to toxic treatments — this project developed a screen-and-treat model using acoziborole that provides a single-dose oral option. This simplifies case management and increases treatment coverage by removing the need for lumbar punctures.
If you are a diagnostic company dealing with the inefficiency of complex microscopic confirmation — this project evaluates the performance of screening tests to enable a 'screen & treat' workflow. This reduces the reliance on specialized laboratory infrastructure in rural areas.
If you are a consultancy dealing with the high cost of disease elimination programs — this project performs a costing analysis of the new screen-and-treat approach. This provides the evidence needed to recommend new protocols to national health programs.
Based on available project data, the project is specifically designed to perform a costing analysis of the new screen & treat approach, but the final figures are not yet provided.
Yes, the project intends to provide the first evidence for recommending the screen & treat approach to national HAT control programs for the elimination of gHAT.
Based on available project data, the project uses acoziborole, which has already completed phase III evaluations, but specific licensing terms are not mentioned.
The study implements the screen & treat approach actively and passively for 3 consecutive years in the Nord Equateur focus of D.R. Congo.
It aims to align with the World Health Organization goal of stopping gHAT transmission by 2030 by simplifying diagnosis and increasing treatment access.
The consortium consists of 5 partners across 4 countries (BE, CD, CH, FR). It is heavily weighted toward academic and research institutions, with 1 university, 2 research organizations, and 2 other entities. Notably, there is a 0% industry ratio, indicating that the project is currently in a public-health validation phase rather than a commercial development phase.
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Contact us to find partners for implementing the screen-and-treat model in other endemic regions.
