Improving Access to Schistosomiasis Treatment for Young Children

The Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium is an international public-private partnership dedicated to the development of a pediatric formulation to treat schistosomiasis in preschool-aged children. The consortium has received renewed funding from the Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund and the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP).

Preparing large-scale access and delivery of the novel formulation

The funding will support the ADOPT programme, which is an implementation research programme that supports with the large-scale access and delivery of the consortium's novel pediatric medication in endemic countries.

The clinical development programme has progressed to Phase III, with a pivotal trial being run in Kenya and Côte d'Ivoire to generate confirmatory data for registration of the novel pediatric formulation. Through its ADOPT programme, the consortium aims to identify approaches to ensure widespread acceptance and equitable access to its pediatric treatment across endemic countries, once registered.

Swiss TPH has been a long-standing partner of the consortium. In addition to the role in the clinical development programme, Swiss TPH is co-leading the new ADOPT programme. "We have come a long way in reducing the burden of schistosomiasis in school children. What remained elusive was an appropriate treatment for preschool-aged children. With joint efforts of several partners from the public and the private sector, a child-friendly formulation has been developed," said Peter Steinmann, public health specialist and Project leader of the ADOPT programme at Swiss TPH. "Bringing the novel formulation to the population in endemic countries will be the crowning achievement of this long-standing successful partnership."

Read the consortium's full press release here.