Tropical
worm disease drug for pre-schoolers shown to work in Africa trial
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[November 16, 2021]
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - An adjusted version
of established drug against schistosomiasis, a tropical parasitic worm
disease, has been shown to work in pre-school children, likely offering
a cure for millions, Germany's Merck KGaA said.
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In a late-stage trial in Cote d'Ivoire and Kenya, more than 90% of
the participants, infected children aged from three months to six
years, had no more parasite eggs in their stool or urine after up to
three weeks of treatment, the drugmaker said, adding it would now
seek regulatory approval.
The oral drug arpraziquantel, an experimental paediatric version of
standard drug praziquantel, was developed by Astellas in Japan and
further optimised by Merck.
It was also shown to have a favourable safety and tolerability,
Merck added.
Merck, acting on behalf of the non-profit Pediatric Praziquantel
Consortium
https://www.pediatricpraziquantel
consortium.org,will seek approval with the European Union's
drug regulator under a programme for new drugs that addresses urgent
needs in countries outside Europe.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/16/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_OPENHOUSE_2021.png)
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/16/images/ads/current/chicagost_sda_FFARM_2021.png) The consortium confirmed the
positive results in a separate statement and
said that schistosomiasis is one of the most
damaging parasitic diseases, affecting about 240
million people.
Praziquantel is the standard treatment for
school-aged children and adults, leaving an
estimated 50 million toddlers and pre-schoolers
without a treatment option.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/16/images/ads/current/graue_sda_042021.png)
The disease, also known as bilharzia, is caused
by parasitic flatworms, spreads via freshwater
snails in tropical and subtropical regions
across the globe but mostly affects poor and
rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Nick
Macfie)
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