By André Julião | Agência FAPESP
Although they contribute to 11% of the incidence of diseases in the world, the so-called neglected diseases are the target of a small fraction of medicines that are developed every year. Between January 2012 and September 2018, 256 new drugs reached the market, but only eight, or 3.1%, targeted neglected diseases. The current mark exceeds that of the period between 1975 and 1999, when only 1.1% was directed at them, but is lower than the period 2000-2011, when 4.3% of new medicines were aimed at neglected ones.
So is called diseases like malaria, diarrheal diseases and tuberculosis, in addition to the 20 neglected tropical diseases recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), such as dengue, chikungunya, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, among others.
The most recent survey on these ills was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Signed by two researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP), it shows that much remains to be done, especially regarding neglected tropical diseases.
None of the new chemical entities between 2012 and 2018 has been targeted at neglected tropical diseases, but rather for malaria and tuberculosis. New therapies for tuberculosis (bedaquilin), with a new mechanism of action, and for Plasmodium vivax malaria (tafenoquine) have been striking novelties in the last 40 and 60 years, respectively.
“The other six drugs approved for 2012 for this group of diseases have been repositioned, biological or new formulations. The repositioned, for example, were applied in the treatment of other diseases and ended up being approved for new clinical uses. In all cases it is not what we call new chemical entities, which are the result of innovation in relation to chemical diversity and therapeutic application, “said Adriano Andricopulo, professor at the São Carlos Institute of Physics (IFSC) at USP and one of the authors of the study.
The researcher signed the text with Leonardo L.G. Ferreira, who had a doctorate and postdoctoral fellowship from FAPESP.
Both are researchers at the Center for Research and Innovation in Biodiversity and Drug Discovery (CIBFar), one of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (CEPIDs) funded by FAPESP.
The WHO set a target for 2030 to end the epidemics of neglected diseases. In addition, the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2012, has established action plans to control, eliminate or eradicate 10 of these diseases by 2020.
“By incorporating science and technology at the frontier of knowledge, the research and development of drugs for neglected diseases has progressed considerably. However, the study reveals a large gap between the impact of these diseases and the development of new therapies for them, “the authors write.
The researchers note, however, the breakthrough that will be the release of fexinidazole to treat human African trypanosomiasis in 2019. “It is now being tested for Chagas disease,” said Andricopulo.
The researcher from USP responds to one of five proposals approved in the FAPESP call with the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Newton Fund of the United Kingdom for neglected infectious diseases. Over the next three years, the groups of Andricopulo and Kevin David Read of the Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) of the University of Dundee in Scotland will investigate the use of bioactive natural products for the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis and of Chagas disease.
The Lancet Infectious Disease article can be read at:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(19)30005-2/fulltext
Original text : http://agencia.fapesp.br/apesar-de-avancos-doencas-negligenciadas-ainda-demandam-atencao/29753/