News
The Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium Receives Positive Opinion from EMA for New Treatment Option for Schistosomiasis in Preschool-Aged Children
The Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium, which Lygature proudly coordinates, has announced an important new milestone: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive scientific opinion of the Consortium’s new pediatric treatment option for preschool-aged children with schistosomiasis.
The application was submitted by Merck, on behalf of the Consortium, under the EU-M4all procedure for high-priority medicines for human use intended for countries outside the European Union.
“After more than 10 years of intense collaboration, we are thrilled to have received a positive scientific opinion from EMA,” said Dr. Jutta Reinhard-Rupp, Chair of the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium Board and Head of the Global Health Institute at Merck. “I am extremely proud of our Consortium of dedicated partners. Together, we have come a long way in our vision of providing a treatment option for the most vulnerable population – the youngest. This will contribute to reducing the global disease burden of schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease that affects approximately 240 million people worldwide. Now, we all need to turn our full attention to access and delivery.”
Lygature’s role
Lygature played an instrumental role in setting up the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium. Lygature provides overall partnership management and is in the lead for communication and dissemination.
Dr. Remco de Vrueh, Senior Program Manager at Lygature, explains: “Importantly, we have received a positive opinion by the EMA for the new child-friendly praziquantel formulation. For the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium, this milestone is a crucial step towards reaching the millions of preschoolers with schistosomiasis. All of this has come about through successful collaboration between public and private partners in which Lygature, in its role as independent coordinator, has been able to make its mark on the Consortium for the past 11 years.”
More information
View this video from the Consortium
Read more about Lygature’s involvement in the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium on our website.
Acknowledgment of support
The Consortium is financially supported by Merck; in-kind contributions from the Consortium’s partners; and grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2012), the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT) (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 & 2020), and the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) (2018 & 2021), under its second program supported by the European Union.