Antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal drug identification

Simon L Croft; Eric Chatelain; Michael P Barrett

doi:10.1042/ETLS20170103

Antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal drug identification

Emerg Top Life Sci. 2017 Dec 22;1(6):613-620. doi: 10.1042/ETLS20170103.

Authors

Simon L Croft¹, Eric Chatelain², Michael P Barrett³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, U.K.
² Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, U.K.

PMID: 33525851
DOI: 10.1042/ETLS20170103

Abstract

Although the treatments for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), leishmaniasis and Chagas disease (CD) still rely on drugs developed several decades ago, there has been significant progress in the identification, development and use of novel drugs and formulations. Notably, there are now two drugs in clinical trial for HAT, fexinidazole and acoziborole; the liposomal amphotericin B formulation AmBisome has become an essential tool for both treatment and control of visceral leishmaniasis; and antifungal triazoles, posoconazole and ravuconazole, together with fexinidazole, have reached clinical trials for CD. Several other novel and diverse candidates are moving through the pipeline; sustained funding for their clinical development will now be the key to bring new safe, oral, shorter-course treatments to the clinic.

Keywords: Chagas disease; leishmaniasis; trypanosomiasis.