Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH) and the World Health Organisation Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) announced today that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved moxidectin 8 mg oral for the treatment of river blindness (onchocerciasis) in patients aged 12 years and older. The FDA has also awarded MDGH a priority review voucher (PRV).
Moxidectin is a macrocyclic lactone anthelmintic medicine that selectively binds to the parasite’s glutamate-gated chloride ion channels. These channels are vital to the function of invertebrate nerve and muscle cells. Moxidectin has activity against O. volvulus microfilariae but does not kill adult O. volvulus parasites.
“FDA approval is a momentous achievement for any biopharmaceutical company, but it is a particularly rare and exciting event in the neglected diseases setting” said Mark Sullivan, Founder and Managing Director of MDGH. “It takes a broad community to develop a new medicine. FDA approval represents decades of work by thousands of scientists, disease control specialists, expert advisors, community health workers, funders and study participants. We particularly acknowledge the US$13 million investment from the Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF) as well as the extraordinary persistence and dedication of the team at TDR, without whom this would not have happened.”
TDR (the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases) was instrumental in the development of moxidectin. “We are delighted about the FDA’s decision,” says TDR Director John Reeder. “It is a milestone toward the river blindness endgame and our objective to enable African countries to integrate moxidectin into their elimination strategies.”
This approval is the result of a paradigm-changing approach to the development of new medicines for neglected diseases, enabled by the PRV program. “As neglected tropical diseases are endemic in low and middle-income countries, there are limited markets for medicines. Therefore, finding investors willing to support development in these diseases is extremely difficult” added Mark Sullivan. “However, the introduction of the FDA’s neglected diseases PRV program has created a market around neglected diseases.“
Nigeria: River blindness transmission interrupted in Plateau and Nasarawa states
River blindness is caused by a parasitic worm, Onchocerca volvulus. The disease manifests as severe itching, disfiguring skin conditions and visual impairment, including permanent blindness, caused by the worm’s larvae (microfilariae).
The approval of moxidectin was based on data from two randomized, double blind, active controlled clinical studies. Each study met its respective primary endpoints, showing a statistically significant superiority of moxidectin over the current standard of care, ivermectin, in suppressing the presence of the microfilariae in skin. Full results from the Phase III study were published in the Lancet in January 2018.
- Fresh FMD outbreak confirmed in north-western Botswana
- Toronto: Officials warn of possible hepatitis A exposure for patrons of Union Station restaurant
- Kenya reports on multiple outbreaks: Cholera, chikungunya and RVF
- Louisiana: Naegleria fowleri detected in Pointe-aux-Chenes water
- Red Cross medical experts join Ebola emergency response in DR Congo
- Measles, undiagnosed fever outbreaks hit Sudan
