Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development organization that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases. For the last fifteen years, they have worked together with donors and partners to develop new medicines for vulnerable and poor communities. DNDi works by partnering with private industries, public institutions, NGOs and academia, and the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho (UHAS) is one of its partners.
A team of experts from DNDi visited UHAS on December 18th 2019. The main reason for this interaction is to develop and register drugs with the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority on the onchocerciasis disease, which is expected to speed up the drug development process for the disease.
According to Dr. Sabine Specht, one of the team members from DNDi, treatment for the disease has been discovered in the veterinary world and this has given them confidence that it will work on human parasites as well. She said, the “Phase 1 study, which is the health volunteer study was successful and the team is ready to move on to the Phase 2 study, which is the trial on infected persons.”
Professor John Owusu Gyapong, Vice Chancellor of UHAS, who welcomed the team, said the university loves to work with institutions that “appreciate the modus operandi of the university system.” He said, the trial is an opportunity to train scientists in whichever form is required in order to build capacity and carve out scientific prospects.
Also present at the interaction were Dr. Nicholas Opoku , a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, UHAS and Mrs. Karen Dequatre, also with DNDi