Acoziborole has been approved as a single-dose treatment for sleeping sickness, potentially simplifying treatment and aiding WHO's elimination efforts by 2030.
The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has granted a positive opinion for Acoziborole Winthrop, a new single-dose oral treatment for sleeping sickness caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. This approval is based on promising results from Phase II/III clinical trials, which showed up to 96 percent success rates in treating both early and advanced stages of the disease at 18 months. This represents a significant advancement in the effort to combat this neglected tropical disease, which poses a severe health risk in various regions of Africa.
The single-dose regimen consists of just three tablets, providing a more straightforward and less burdensome treatment option compared to existing multi-day regimens that may complicate adherence, especially in remote areas. The approval aligns with the World Health Organization's (WHO) goal to eliminate sleeping sickness by 2030, encouraging healthcare providers to adopt this new treatment more broadly. This could lead to significant reductions in morbidity and prevent future cases of the disease.
Furthermore, pharmaceutical company Sanofi has committed to donating the Acoziborole treatment to the WHO via its philanthropic arm, Foundation S, enhancing access to this crucial medicine in low-resource settings. The potential impact on public health, particularly in endemic countries, could be profound as it addresses both issues around treatment complexity and medication availability, crucial for achieving global health targets.
