WORMVACS2.0 - Innovations for vaccines against helminth infections

Infections with parasitic worms (helminths) continue to cause a massive global health burden. Yet, effective vaccines to enable control and elimination of helminth infections do not exist. Primary reasons for this are that target discovery approaches are not well developed, protective immune…

01.09.2023 - 31.08.2028
Research project
European Commission (EU) / Horizon Europe
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
eWHORM - Enabling the WHO-Roadmap 2030

Worm infections (helminthiases) affect around 1.5 billion people worldwide, making them one of the most prevalent infections in humans. Worm infections can cause chronic and debilitating health problems, such as lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis (river blindness), loiasis (African eye worm),…

01.04.2023 - 31.03.2028
Clinical Trial, Research project
European Commission (EU) / European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
FACE-IT - Feasibility and Economic Evaluation of Improved Child Deworming

Parasitic worm infections are still very common, particularly among children living in areas with limited access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Additionally, this age group is at highest risk of morbidity associated with chronic worm infections. Current disease control efforts…

01.09.2022 - 31.08.2026
Intervention Study, Clinical Trial
Basel Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH)
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
Manipulation of Human Immunity by Parasitic Worms

Approximately ten percent of the world's population is at risk of schistosomiasis, a neglected, tropical disease caused by species of the helminth Schistosoma. For the past 40 years, control of schistosomiasis has depended on the widespread use of a single drug, praziquantel. Despite its good…

01.12.2020 - 30.09.2021
Research project
University of Basel / Förderung exzellenter Nachwuchsforschender
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
HELP - Collaboration for innovation: Establishment of a pan-nematode drug development platform

To target helminth elimination, a drug research and development (R&D) pipeline is needed to provide new chemotherapeutics that effectively eliminate or sterilize adult worms, thus bringing about the paradigm shift necessary to reach the 2030 SDG goals on health.

Our consortium proposes to establish…

01.09.2019 - 31.08.2024
Research project, Clinical Trial
European Commission (EU) / Horizon 2020
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
Moxi Strong - Moxidectin for Strongyloidiasis

The overarching goal of this project is to assemble for the first time key data on the safety and efficacy and pharmacokinetics of moxidectin for the treatment of strongyloidiasis. We propose to conduct a Phase 2a  The project consists of three objectives:
1. What is the efficacy and safety of…

01.05.2019 - 30.04.2022
Research project
Fondazione Adiuvare, Lugano
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
Drug discovery and development for schistosomiasis: From repositioning of antimalarial drug leads and clinical advanced drug candidates to the development of a new paediatric formulation of praziquantel

The aim of my 4-year research project is to identify one or several antischistosomal drug development candidates targeting the haemoglobin degradation pathway and/or other mechanisms with favourable physico-chemical and drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) properties. My proposed research…

01.01.2018 - 22.09.2022
Research project
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) / Project Funding
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
Infected body on a chip”: Microfluidic impedance platform for antischistosomal drug discovery

Many new methods in drug discovery originate from the field of microfluidics, which also include innovative methods to monitor the status of cells or tissues by means of electric impedance spectroscopy (EIS). This fact has motivated the Helminth Drug Development Unit (HDDU) at the Swiss Tropical and…

01.11.2016 - 31.10.2020
Research project
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
Gates combination chemotherapy - Co-Administration Drug Therapy against Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis: from Efficacy and Safety to Community Effectiveness

Background:
Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) – roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), the hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus), and threadworm (Strongyloides stercoralis) – affect more than 1 billion people worldwide with the highest infection rates…

14.10.2016 - 31.10.2022
Research project, Clinical Trial
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser
Moxidectin-STH - Efficacy and safety of moxidectin plus albendazole, moxidectin plus tribendimidine, albendazole plus oxantel pamoate and moxidectin alone against Trichuris trichiura and concomitant soil-transmitted helminth infections: a randomized controlled trial

The recommended anthelmintics show low efficacy in a single-dose regimen against Trichuris trichiura. Moxidectin, a new treatment for river blindness, might complement the drug armamentarium for the treatment an control of soil-transmitted helminthiasis. However, its efficacy against T trichiura has…

01.09.2016 - 28.02.2018
Research project
Thrasher Research Fund
Helminth Drug Development
Jennifer Keiser