Potential drug development candidates for human soil-transmitted helminthiases

Area of Science:

• Drug discovery and development
• Parasitology
• Public health

Background:

• Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) treatment relies on limited benzimidazoles (albendazole, mebendazole).
• Current STH drugs have limitations including contraindication in early pregnancy and reduced efficacy against Trichuris trichiura.
• Emerging drug resistance necessitates the search for alternative anthelmintics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and evaluate potential drug development candidates for STH from human and veterinary medicine.
• To assess the feasibility of fast-tracking veterinary compounds for human clinical trials.

Main Methods:

• Literature and veterinary product pipeline searches were conducted.
• Publicly available data (FoI, EPAR, literature) for selected compounds were compiled.
• A Target Product Profile (TPP) was developed and used for product comparison.

Main Results:

• General findings on various compound classes were summarized.
• Specific data on veterinary anthelmintics monepantel and emodepside, and nitazoxanide were compiled from regulatory filings.
• Few compounds met the criteria for development track decisions.

Conclusions:

• Veterinary compounds like emodepside and monepantel show promise for STH treatment.
• Fast-tracking these veterinary drugs for human studies is possible but requires further data acquisition.
• Informed decisions on development require additional information on selected candidates.