The EDCTP-funded project is a continuation of STOP and will pave the way for the implementation of the new albendazole-ivermectin co-formulation at the programme level
STOP’s ALIVE trial has demonstrated that combining a fixed dose of albendazole and ivermectin in one single pill is safe and- if preliminary results are confirmed- effective against whipworm (Trichuris) and the other species of soil-transmitted helminths (STH). The STOP2030 project has now received 3.5 million euros from the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking and nearly 800,000 euros from the Swiss government for the final phase of development of this new pill, including its registration by the European Medicines Agency. In particular, the project aims to generate data on safety, acceptability and cost effectiveness of the new treatment on a larger scale. The project kick-off meeting took place on July 6 and 7 in Madrid, with participation of all members of the consortium.
“STOP2030 aims to develop a successful implementation strategy for governments who wish to use the new co-formulation in mass drug administration programmes,” says Alejandro Krolewiecki, principal investigator and scientific coordinator of the project. The approach involves having conversations with policy makers to ensure that the treatment can be widely used to help control STH infections.
The project is a private-public partnership of African and European organisations: the Ghana Health Service, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Laboratorios Liconsa, Fundación Mundo Sano, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Bridges to Development, and Genome Research Limited.
“We are excited to see that our collaborators in Africa are leading key parts of the work and those in the global North are working as supporting partners,” says Alan Brooks, from the non-profit Bridges to Development organisation.
If successfully implemented, the new co-formulation could help countries achieve the WHO’s objective to reduce infection prevalence in children below 2% by 2030 and eliminate STH as a public health problem.
STOP ALIVE trial