Scabies program update

Scabies program update

Recruitment is now well underway in our Phase 2 study investigating the potential for moxidectin as a single dose oral treatment for human scabies. In March, Dr Victoria Ryg-Cornejo, Project Leader for the scabies program, visited clinical trial sites in Honduras, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the United States to gain a first-hand look at the study progress.

“It has been really encouraging to see the clinical teams’ commitment to this study because it would not be possible to develop what we expect to be an easier, simpler option to treat scabies, without them”, commented Dr Ryg-Cornejo. “We knew our investigational teams were enthusiastic about this study and the potential of moxidectin, and it’s such a great experience to see how it’s fueling team efforts to enroll scabies patients”. Victoria is shown here meeting with one of the study Investigators, Dr Elizabeth Barranco and her team at CAIMED Center, Ponce Research Institute, Puerto Rico.

According to the World Health Organization, over 200 million people worldwide are affected by scabies at any given time. It is particularly common in hot, tropical countries and in areas of high population density where it spreads readily through skin-to-skin contact. In settings like these, the prevalence among children can reach 50%. One of the biggest challenges for treatment is that it often requires repeat administration of topical creams or oral medications. Initial treatment may kill the adult parasite but not its eggs, and so a second application is necessary to kill newly hatched mites. We are investigating the potential for moxidectin as a single-dose oral treatment for human scabies.

Study MDGH-MOX-2002 [NCT05875441] is a placebo-controlled study to assess the efficacy and safety of three different single oral doses of moxidectin in people with scabies. The primary outcome measure is complete cure at Day 28. The study began recruitment at the end of 2023 and is sponsored by Medicines Development for Global Health, with support from Atticus Medical..

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