Next generation diagnostics and oral treatment for visceral leishmaniasis in Eastern Africa: transforming patient care through innovation (VL-INNO)

Left untreated, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is fatal. Current diagnostics are invasive or have low sensitivity, and treatments are neither completely effective nor adapted for use in the remote VL endemic areas. Early diagnosis and effective prompt treatment reduce the prevalence of VL and prevents disabilities and death, as well as reduce transmission of this poverty related disease.
The VL-INNO consortium proposes innovative approaches for the development of new oral safe drugs and antigen detection rapid diagnostics test, with objective of delivering a test and treat package that can be deployed in low-resource settings, closer to the communities affected by the disease, offering a paradigm shift
in combating visceral leishmaniasis. This is possible due to the well-established collaborations between the partners, as well as extensive experience in this disease environment and health care settings.
The proposal aims to implement a proof of concept study for the development of a new, orally efficacious treatment regimen for VL together with a new antigen based rapid diagnostic testing, low-invasive biomarkers and test-of-cure assays and the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to improve parasitological diagnosis and quality control.

Project type:Collaboration project