[e-med] Recherche clinique sur la Leshmaniose viscérale en Afrique

["ReMeD" <remed@remed.org>]

[Traduction d'un message diffusé sur e-drug]
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DNDI a inauguré le premier site de recherche clinique sur la Leshmaniose viscérale en Ethiopie.
Genève, Confédération Helvétique, 6 avril 2006.
le premier site de recherche clinique dédié à la Leshmaniose viscérale (LV) en Afrique a été inauguré par Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) le 9 février en présence des autorités régionales du ministère de la santé, et des membres de l’université d’Addis Abeba. Le Leishmaniasis Research and Treatment Centre (LRTC) est établi à Arba Minch, au sud de l’Ethiopie.
[…]
Mis en œuvre par DNDi avec des fonds apportés par la Leopold Bachmann Foundation, une organisation philanthropique helvétique, le LRTC fonctionnera à la fois comme un site de traitement et recherche pour les patients atteints de Leshmaniose viscérale, connue aussi sous le nom de kala-azar. Affectant souvent des patients qui vivent dans des zones où l’accès aux soins est minimal, la LV est une maladie mortelle qui tues des milliers de personnes chaque année.
[…]
Le LRTC fait partie de la Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP) du DNDi qui rassemble un groupe régional de scientifiques et d’institutions qui travaillent sur le développement des capacités à mener des essais cliniques pour apporter de nouveaux traitements aux patients atteints de LV. LEAP rassemble des sites d’essais cliniques dans trois pays : l’Ethiopie, le Soudan et le Kenya.
Basé sur une stratégie reposant que l’expertise des régions de maladies endémiques, DNDi a huit projets sur la leshmaniose : deux au niveau de la découverte de nouveaux médicaments, trois d’études précliniques et trois d’évaluation clinique. Parce que le traitement actuel requiert trente jours d’injection difficiles à supporter, réalisées dans un cadre hospitalier, il existe un besoin d’amélioration en termes de disponibilité et de coût aussi bien que d’innovation sur l’efficacité des traitements et la prévention des résistances.
[…]
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La Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP) associe des institutions de trois pays : au Kenya, le Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) et le ministère de la Santé ; en Ethiopie, l’Addis Ababa University (AAU), la Drug Administration and Control Authority (DACA), et le ministère de la Santé ; au Soudan, l’University de Khartoum, le ministère fédéral de la santé et MSF-Hollande. Le rôle de LEAP est de faciliter les essais cliniques et l’enregistrement de nouveaux traitements pour la LV dans la région ; d’évaluer, valider et enregistrer des méthodes qui répondent aux besoins régionaux ; soutenir le renforcement de l’évaluation des médicaments et la conduite des essais cliniques dans la région. 
[…]
Contact: Ann-Marie SEVCSIK at amsevcsik@dndi.org at +1 646 258 8131 or
+41 (0)79 814 9147.

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Version originale
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E-DRUG: Africa's First Clinical Research Facility for Visceral Leishmaniasis
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DNDi Inaugurates Africa's First Clinical Research Facility for Visceral Leishmaniasis in Ethiopia
Geneva, Switzerland, 6 April 2006: Africa's first clinical research facility dedicated to visceral leishmaniasis (VL), was inaugurated by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) on February 9 in the presence of the regional authorities of Ministry of Health, and members from Addis Ababa University (AAU). The Leishmaniasis Research and Treatment Centre (LRTC) is located in Arba Minch, southern Ethiopia.
"This facility marks an important step in meeting the needs of VL patients who have been neglected because of a lack of access to appropriate diagnosis and treatment," remarked Catherine Royce, DNDi Leishmaniasis Project Manager.
Built by DNDi, with funds provided by the Leopold Bachmann Foundation, a Swiss philanthropic organization, the LRTC will function both as a treatment and research facility for patients suffering from VL, also known as kala-azar. Affecting patients who mostly live in areas where access to health care is minimal, VL is a deadly disease that claims thousands of lives a year. 
 Professor Asrat Hailu, a senior researcher in the Faculty of Medicine at Addis Ababa University, commented, "In a country where research is not yet fully considered as a part of the solution to the problems that face us, and hence where capacity for clinical research is rudimentary, the roadmap of DNDi could not have been more timely."
The LRTC is part of DNDi's Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP) that brings together a regional group of scientists and institutions working on developing clinical trial capacity to bring new treatments to patients suffering from VL. LEAP currently involves clinical trial sites in 3 countries - Ethiopia, Sudan, and Kenya. 
With an inclusive strategy that utilizes existing expertise in disease-endemic regions, DNDi currently has eight projects focused on leishmaniasis - 2 in the early drug discovery stage, 3 in preclinical studies, and 3 in clinical testing. Because current treatment requires a 30-day course of painful injections given in a hospital, there is a need for both immediate improvements in terms of availability and cost as well as longer-term innovation in terms of efficacy and prevention of resistance. 

Bernard Pecoul, Executive Director of DNDi, emphasized, "The goal of DNDi's portfolio strategy for VL is to work towards a well-balanced range of projects. We are working to ensure that patient needs are urgently met with the best science for the most neglected."

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The Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP) currently involves partner institutions in three countries: in Kenya, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the Ministry of Health; in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa University (AAU), the Drug Administration and Control Authority (DACA), and the Ministry of Health; and in Sudan, the University of Khartoum, the Federal Ministry of Health, and MSF-Holland. The role of LEAP is to facilitate clinical testing and registration of new treatments for VL in the region; to evaluate, validate and register improved options that address regional needs for leishmaniasis; and to provide capacity strengthening for drug evaluation and clinical studies in the region.
 
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The Leishmaniasis Research and Treatment Centre (LRTC,) Africa's first clinical research facility dedicated to visceral leishmaniasis (VL), was opened in February 2006 by DNDi in Arba Minch, Ethiopia. The building is part of Arba Hospital and was built by Mr. Mekonnen Zeyeye and Mr.
Feyisa Kefene. The building has 24 beds, separate examination and treatment rooms, a laboratory, offices for medical personnel, a rest area for patients and families, cooking facilities, and a water storage tank.

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Contact: Ann-Marie SEVCSIK at amsevcsik@dndi.org at +1 646 258 8131 or
+41 (0)79 814 9147.