RGS Model Drug Development - Modelling and simulation for drug development at Swiss TPH: clinical anthelminthic drug development and preclinical antimalarial development

This research project is aligned with priorities of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, namely integrating drug discovery and drug development with modeling. Aiming to strengthen capacity at the institute for model based research and development of existing and novel drugs we propose to use pharmacometrics and modelling and simulation in the preclinical and clinical development of antimalarials and anthelmintics, respectively. This work will bridge the gap from drug discovery to clinical development and guide the R&D process for new medicines and understanding of existing medicines for treatment of helminths. This proposal aims to support two specific anthelmintic clinical drug development projects, for the pharmacometric analysis of tribendimidine compared to praziquantel in adults infected with Opisthorchis viverrini and praziquantel for improved management of paediatric schistosomiasis. In addition, the project will initiate a preclinical modelling framework for antimalarial compound selection that can be extended to preclinical anthelmintic drugs research.