New antibiotic against river blindness and lymphatic filariasis pathogens
Japanese fund supports research into the treatment of filarial infections at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF)
DZIF scientist Prof Achim Hoerauf and his team have succeeded in acquiring a large amount of funding from the Japanese Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund for their research project on corallopyronin A as a treatment for filarial infections.
A team led by Prof Achim Hoerauf in the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) is further developing the antibiotic corallopyronin A as a treatment for the neglected tropical diseases river blindness and lymphatic filariasis. They have now succeeded in entering into a partnership with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai and obtaining a large amount of funding. The team's aim is to develop a safe and sustainably effective drug against these worm diseases, which are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. The people affected mainly live in Africa and tropical regions and urgently need active ingredients that kill the long-lived adult worms. The project is now being funded with around 5.6 million euros by the Japanese Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund.
Infections with worms from the filarial group, also known as filariasis, can lead to river blindness and, if left untreated, to elephantiasis—a disease in which extremities become greatly enlarged due to destruction of the lymphatic vessels. The lives of those affected are severely impaired. More than 21 million people in Africa are infected with the nematode Onchocerca volvulus, the causative agent of river blindness. Around one in ten of them go blind. In 2009, Prof. Achim Hoerauf and his team found an effective drug to combat the worms in the form of corallopyronin A. “This is a natural antibiotic that can be used successfully in patients, as it primarily targets the bacteria that live as symbionts in the worms and are responsible for their survival. As a result, the worms themselves are also destroyed,” says Hoerauf, Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology at the University Hospital Bonn and Deputy Coordinator of the DZIF research area Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Clinical testing imminent
Corallopyronin A, which is derived from an environmental bacterium (the myxobacterium Corallococcus coralloides), was recognised as an effective antibiotic against staphylococci by scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in the 1980s. As a result of the new findings on its effectiveness against filariae, research into its use in humans began. In the research network of the DZIF, Prof Hoerauf's research team is now developing the substance further into a drug. The antibiotic is effective against the bacterial endosymbionts of worms from the filarial group and numerous other bacteria. Translational research is currently in the final phase of preclinical testing and the first clinical trials are scheduled for 2025/2026. In collaboration with the HZI, a biotechnological process has been established with which the active substance can be produced in sufficient quantities and purity for toxicity testing. A manufacturing company, which is the global market leader for some cancer therapeutics and can also produce the antibiotic on an industrial scale for clinical trials, was recently signed up.
Characterisation of the active substance and dosage in humans
As part of the funding from the GHIT Fund, the active substance will be produced in accordance with the strict requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and the final tests for possible side effects will be completed in order to identify an initial dose for treatment in humans.
“The new findings and the upcoming clinical trial phase of our research for use in humans represent great hope for those affected who cannot avoid infection in their environment and have no access to effective medication,” says Prof Hoerauf. “I am very pleased that a global company like Eisai is also involved in the field of neglected tropical diseases and has entered into this cooperation with us.”
In addition to the University Hospital Bonn, the University of Bonn (Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Prof Karl G. Wagner), the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (Department of Microbial Drugs, Braunschweig, Prof Marc Stadler) and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research (Saarbrücken, Prof Rolf Müller) are involved in the long-term DZIF project.
Source: Press release of the University Hospital Bonn (PDF download)
