American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting

Medicines Development for Global Health had its first significant presence in 3 years at the 2022 American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene meeting in Seattle, Washington, USA, with both clinical presentations and its first exhibit booth.

Dr. Nicholas Opoku of School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ghana, presented results of an open label study [MDGH-MOX-1006; NCT03962062] of the safety and pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of moxidectin in subjects aged 4 to 17 to identify an optimal dose for treatment in children 4-11 years. This is the first paediatric clinical study of moxidectin.

Also, during that first morning session, the Death to Onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis (DOLF) Project group presented 12-month preliminary results from a 2-year clinical trial on lymphatic filariasis being conducted in Côte d’Ivoire. The study compares four different moxidectin or ivermectin combination regimens for lymphatic filariasis with the authors concluding that moxidectin plus albendazole is superior to ivermectin plus albendazole, which is the current standard of care for annual mass drug administration for lymphatic filariasis in Africa, in sustained clearance of microfilaremia at 12 months after a single treatment. They also note that moxidectin plus albendazole efficacy at 12 months is similar to ivermectin plus albendazole and diethylcarbamazine (IDA) and moxidectin plus albendazole and diethylcarbamazine (MoxDA) combinations.

The study authors suggested that “An improved treatment regimen for lymphatic filariasis that provides prolonged microfilaria clearance could accelerate lymphatic filariasis elimination by reducing the number of rounds of mass drug administration required to interrupt transmission.” They also noted that “prolonged clearance without diethylcarbamazine would be a game-changer for lymphatic filariasis elimination programs in onchocerciasis endemic countries where IDA cannot be used because of safety concerns.”

-End