Project description
A new hope against river blindness
Onchocerciasis, often called river blindness, affects millions of people across sub-Saharan Africa, where it can lead to permanent vision loss and epilepsy. A drug called ivermectin has been used for nearly 30 years, but in some areas, the disease continues to be a challenge. The EU-funded EMINENCE project aims to test a drug called moxidectin that might be a better option because it keeps the parasites under control for almost a year. Researchers are conducting trials in Cameroon to see if giving this new drug once or twice a year works better than the old standard. They are also making sure it is safe to use in areas where there are other parasites. The ultimate goal is to eliminate the disease permanently.
Objective
Onchocerciasis is a neglected tropical disease leading to blindness and associated with epilepsy. Most cases are in sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO has proposed that its transmission be interrupted in a third of endemic countries by 2030. The main strategy is annual Community-Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI). Despite nearly 3 decades of CDTI, transmission persists in several foci. In Phase II & III clinical trials, moxidectin has shown superior efficacy compared to ivermectin, clearing Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae for nearly a year. No large-scale community trials have yet been undertaken to document its effectiveness and safety for mass treatment. A barrier to onchocerciasis elimination is its co-endemicity with loiasis in Central Africa. Individuals with high Loa loa microfilaraemia may develop serious adverse events if treated with ivermectin. EMINENCE will address these challenges through: 1) a Phase IIIb community trial of annual or biannual moxidectin compared to annual ivermectin in Bafia and Monatele, Cameroon, renowned for their high transmission intensity, 2) a Phase II adaptive trial of ascending moxidectin doses on increasing L. loa microfilarial densities, and 3) a social sciences study to assess the acceptability of and adherence to moxidectin. We will evaluate and model the epidemiological impact of annual or biannual moxidectin compared to annual ivermectin through parasitological, serological and entomological surveys, and will attempt to elucidate potential differences between the two drugs regarding their effects on adult worms. We will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of moxidectin compared to ivermectin in L. loa-infected individuals in the Republic of Congo and Cameroon. Our project will contribute to the evidence-base that moxidectin may be effective and cost-effective to accelerate onchocerciasis elimination in areas where ivermectin has proved insufficient, and will investigate its safety in loiasis co-endemic areas.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences health sciences tropical medicine
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology epilepsy
- social sciences
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.1 - Health
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-JU-GH-EDCTP3-2024-01-two-stage
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
13572 Marseille
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.