By Maxwell Awumah
Ho, Nov 5, GNA-The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a non-profit medical research organisation, have launched a drug discovery partnership to screen around 100 molecules against a species of the parasitic worm Schistosoma that is prevalent in Africa.
The goal of the collaboration is to develop the next generation of treatments for schistosomiasis, one of Africa’s most widespread parasitic diseases. It also aims to expand the continent’s growing drug discovery capacity
The research collaboration, supported by funding from the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), brings together KNUST’s expertise in parasitic diseases and clinical research with DNDi’s experience in discovering and optimizing new molecules against neglected diseases—and translating them from the laboratory to the clinic, according to its release available to Ghana News Agency.
It marks the DNDi’s first drug discovery partnership on the African continent and represents a significant step for KNUST into early-stage drug discovery science.
Alexander Yaw Debrah, Professor of Parasitology and Global Health at KNUST, and Scientific Director of the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research into Tropical Medicine (KCCR) said: “Ghana has made impressive progress in eliminating several neglected diseases, but the number of people with schistosomiasis is not declining, and we need treatments that can cure them.
“This important partnership with DNDi means Ghanaian scientists are now part of a global effort in building the science and innovation needed to reach that goal, in our own laboratories, and for our own communities.”
As part of the DNDi’s efforts to strengthen Africa’s end-to-end R&D ecosystem, the partnership aims not only to eventually develop new treatments for schistosomiasis, but also to expand drug discovery capacity across the continent and enable African researchers and institutions to lead the full process of discovering and developing new medicines.
It said schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is the second most widespread parasitic disease in the world after malaria, affecting more than 250 million people globally—mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Infection occurs through contact with freshwater, where the parasite’s larvae penetrate the skin and develop into adult worms in the body.
The statement said the most prevalent species in Africa affects the urinary and reproductive system, causing anaemia and a condition known as female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) in an estimated 56 million women and girls.
The current treatment for schistosomiasis, praziquantel, has limitations: it mainly kills adult worms and is less effective against juvenile worms, requiring repeated administration over many years. It is also only partially effective in treating FGS and does not relieve the pain caused by inflammatory reactions to the parasite’s eggs, which become trapped in the urogenital tract.
There is therefore an urgent need for treatments that can kill the juvenile worms and better address the debilitating symptoms experienced by women and girls with FGS.
The combined results will help refine a standard screening process and ultimately support the development of new, safe, and effective treatments for the disease.
‘This partnership with KNUST will play a key role in filling a gap that has existed for too long and building the scientific tools we need to find new, better treatments in the region where they are needed most. It is also another step to advance drug discovery research in Ghana beyond the initial project period and lays the foundation for promising future collaborations on other neglected diseases,’ said Dr Eric Chatelain, the Head of Drug Discovery Programme at DNDi.
As part of the collaboration, two KNUST researchers will travel to the University of Bonn, Germany for hands-on training in laboratory screening cascade methods.
‘As schistosomiasis remains a public health priority in Ghana, this collaboration between KNUST and DNDi is exactly the kind of partnership we need, one that builds scientific capacity here in Ghana and demonstrates that Africa can lead the research that matters most to its own people. We welcome this and the opportunities it creates for Ghana’s scientific community,’ said Dr Joseph Kwadwo Larbi Opare, Program Manager for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) at the Ghana Health Service.
GNA
Edited by: Benjamin Mensah
Reported by: Maxwell Awumah
Email address: [email protected]