by Risch F, Kazakov A, Specht S, Pfarr K, Fischer PU, Hoerauf A, Hübner MP. Trends in Parasitology 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.07.005 1
Although lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis have been targeted for global elimination, these helminth infections are still a major public health problem across the tropics and subtropics. Despite decades of research, treatment options remain limited; drugs that both completely clear infection and that can be used on a large scale, are still unavailable.
In this review, the authors discuss the strengths and weaknesses of currently available treatments and new ones in development, concluding that the preclinical R&D pipeline for filarial infections continues to be limited and highlighting the importance of continuous drug discovery and testing.