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Leishmaniasis

GSK’s research into leishmaniasis at our centre in Spain is done in collaboration with several alliance partners, including Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).

Leishmaniasis: a global problem

Leishmaniasis exists in a number of forms with a range of clinical symptoms. Visceral leishmaniasis, the type we are targeting, is the most severe form of the disease. Also known as kala azar or black sickness, this infection attacks the internal organs and is usually fatal within two years if left untreated.

An estimated 12 million people are infected by leishmaniasis and around 2 million infections occur each year. The true figure of visceral leishmaniasis cases are believed to be greatly under reported. The best estimate is 500,000 new cases of visceral leishmaniasis each year, and 1.5 million cases per year of cutaneous leishmaniasis, the less severe form.

Leishmaniasis epidemics are particularly devastating in refugee camps, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). WHO also highlights a growing problem of co-infection with visceral leishmaniasis and HIV, where leishmaniasis accelerates the onset of AIDS.

Causes

Leishmaniasis is caused by the Leishmania parasite which can be transmitted to humans when a sandfly infected with the parasite bites them. The sandflies can get infected by biting infected humans or other mammals.

A combination of medicines is used to treat visceral leishmaniasis. However, new drugs or formulations that have been developed tend to have drawbacks in terms of how they are administered, the length of treatment (up to 28 days), side-effects or cost. Drug resistance is also becoming a problem, particularly in India.

Our collaborative research

Our collaborative research on leishmaniasis, which started in 2008, focuses on identifying compounds from other GSK programmes that may act against this disease. For example, we have been testing antimalarial agents against the leishmaniasis parasite with positive results. The activity against leishmaniasis of one antimalarial drug, within the class of pyridones, against leishmaniasis has already been confirmed by other facilities.