Originally published on September 29, 2009
The Consortium for Parasitic Drug Development (CPDD) has announced an initial funding of more than US$180,000 to iCo Therapeutics to assist its development of Prof. Kishor Wasan’s oral delivery of the drug Amp B. Used to treat Visceral Leishmaniasis, VL, a parasitic disease that is typically transmitted by sand flies in areas with poor sanitation conditions, Amp B is typically administered intravenously. Prof. Wasan’s formulation – licensed to iCo Therapeutics under UBC’s Global Access Program – allows the drug to be taken orally and thus increasing its effectiveness in developing countries, where VL kill 60,000 people a year.
The CPDD is a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grantee, developing drugs for the treatment of neglected diseases. The funding to iCo will help optimize the drug for use in tropical conditions.