Projects

Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium

Developing and providing a pediatric formulation of the drug praziquantel, to treat schistosomiasis in preschool-aged children

Global Health

Latest project updates

First Preschool-Aged Child Treated with the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium’s New Pediatric Treatment for Schistosomiasis
Technology transfer of new pediatric treatment option for schistosomiasis advances in Brazil
New pediatric treatment option for preschoolers with schistosomiasis now included in WHO List of Prequalified Medicines

The Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium targets preschool-aged children with schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that affects more than 240 million people worldwide. The consortium was established in July 2012 and uses an innovative R&D operating model that builds new partnerships as needed and shares development risks.

14

partners since 2021

12 years

duration of the program

Remco de Vrueh, PhD
Partnership Director
"Key to a successful partnership are trust, communication, a common goal and proper governance."
Mats Hallie, MSc
Associate Partnership Manager
"When asked about the essence of life, people answer with the story of their own journey."

About the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium

Praziquantel (PZQ), the gold standard treatment for schistosomiasis, is currently available in large oral tablets that are suitable only for adults and school-aged children. Due to the size of the tablet, its bitter taste, and a lack of clinical data, an appropriate treatment for very young children does not exist. The consortium addresses this issue and has developed a new orally disintegrating PZQ formulation known as arpraziquantel. With the full clinical development phase successfully completed in 2021, the program has entered the regulatory filing stage, while preparing for the potential delivery of arpraziquantel through the consortium’s dedicated access program, ADOPT. The consortium is supported by grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2013, the Global Health Initiative Technology Fund in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019 & 2021, and the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) (2018 & 2021), under its second program supported by the European Union. Visit the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium website for more information about the program.

Bridging industry interests and societal needs

Lygature helped to set up the consortium and fulfills an independent ‘broker’ role, a key ingredient of successful public-private development partnerships. Reflecting the consortium’s position at the crossroad between industry and society, the contributions being made by Lygature from January 2016 include:

Coordination and governance. As consortium coordinator, Lygature provides necessary governance in terms of monitoring progress, finance, IP management, and collaborations. In addition, it successfully takes the lead in fundraising to support the Development and Access programs (current total value: EUR 5m).
Communication and dissemination . Lygature pro-actively coordinates the engagement with key stakeholders to share the consortium’s ambition to make a meaningful contribution to tropical medicine and health innovation in endemic countries. Responsibilities include (but are not limited to): presenting at (inter)national conferences; writing of (scientific) articles and news items; and development of the consortium’s communication strategy, website, and visual identity and social media management.

The Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium is an example of the Lygature mission to bring together public and private partners, and so to make a meaningful contribution to global health. The project relies heavily on Lygature’s expertise in both management and science. In addition, Lygature has helped to ensure that each partner’s needs, interests, and objectives are met.

Lygature together with

Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany), Astellas Pharma Inc. (Japan) , Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute , Farmanguinhos, Unlimit Health, KEMRI, UFHB, Technischen Universität München, African Institute for Health and Development, Ministry of Health in Côte d’Ivoire, Ministry of Health in Kenya, Ministry of Health in Uganda, Makerere University School of Public Health

Project updates

19 June 2020 Boy playing with water

Publication: Schistosomiasis Control: Leave No Age Group Behind

The current treatment and monitoring strategies for schistosomiasis control programs mainly focus on school-aged children, with much less attention given to pre-school age children and adults.

The gaps in the current methods of control are leading to health inequities, as addressed in a recent publication in Trends in Parasitology.

Publication: Sensitive diagnostic tools and targeted drug administration strategies needed to eliminate schistosomiasis

While current treatment strategies have been instrumental in managing the disease burden of schistosomiasis, there are still many challenges remaining in the fight to end the spread of the disease.

Earlier this month, members from the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium together with other experts published a comprehensive overview of the problems being faced and the approach that is required to truly work towards a strategy of elimination.

COVID-19 and the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium

Over the last few weeks, the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium has been working hard to map the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the project.

While it is not yet clear what the exact consequences will be, the team has been able to make a start on assessing the delays and the options for next steps.

14