Test your knowledge on NTD innovation.

Approximately what proportion of the world’s population is affected by NTDs?

1/100

1/10

1/5

1/3

One in five people globally—more than 1.7 billion people—are affected by NTDs. NTDs cause about 185,000 deaths per year, in addition to severe disability, disfigurement, blindness, and malnutrition. NTDs are endemic in 149 countries, yet less than 1 percent of new drugs approved between 1975 and 2011 were for NTDs.

How many NTDs are considered “tool-ready”—meaning there are existing low-cost, effective interventions to combat them?

Only seven NTDs are considered “tool-ready,” meaning they can be controlled or even eliminated due to the availability of low-cost and effective interventions. These seven diseases remain responsible for the overwhelming majority of the NTD burden, and thus have been the focus of control efforts. Yet in many cases, these available treatments are still lengthy and burdensome to take, with significant side effects, underscoring the need for new and improved treatments.

Of the 20 NTDs prioritized by the World Health Organization (WHO), for how many are there approved vaccines?

Just one. No approved vaccines exist for 19 of the 20 NTDs prioritized by the WHO, and the existing vaccine for dengue is recommended for use only in select populations.

In September 2020, VLA1553 became the first vaccine candidate to enter phase 3 clinical trials for which disease? (Hint: This mosquito-borne disease causes joint pain and fever.)

Hookworm

Schistosomiasis

Chagas

Chikungunya

In September 2020, Valneva announced the initiation of a phase 3 clinical trial for its live-attenuated, single-dose chikungunya vaccine candidate. In October, the candidate was granted Priority Medicines designation by the European Medicines Agency, complementing the Fast Track designation it received from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2018.

Several other chikungunya vaccine candidates are in development, including a single-shot candidate from Merck (acquired from Themis Biosciences), funded in part by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Global Health Investment Fund, that is poised to enter phase 3 trials and BBV87, a two-dose live-inactivated vaccine in phase 1 trials from Bharat Biotech and the International Vaccine Institute with funding from CEPI.

In September 2020, promising results were reported for a phase 1 trial combining two co-administered vaccines for which disease? (Hint: This parasitic infection causes gastrointestinal issues, protein deficiency, and anemia and is linked to impaired learning in children.)

Hookworm

Lymphatic filariasis

River blindness

Buruli ulcer

Data published in The Lancet outlined safety results from a Hookworm vaccine study. The two vaccine candidates involved in the trial, Na-GST-1 and Na-APR-1, have both been shown to be safe and well-tolerated separately; this study, conducted in Gabon, tested the candidates when co-administered, to boost antibody response. Results showed the doses were well-tolerated and induced an antibody response. Researchers plan to continue research with a study of the vaccines in healthy children in Gabon and a phase 2 vaccine challenge study in the United States using a human hookworm infection model.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a low-cost, novel biosensor technology platform is under development to rapidly detect all but which of the below diseases?

Dengue fever

Chagas

Yellow fever

Zika

For over a decade, a team of infectious disease experts has been working on a diagnostic platform able to rapidly detect dengue fever, yellow fever, and Zika virus infections. While laboratory PCR tests exist to detect and distinguish these diseases, they are often not readily available in low-resource settings without appropriate infrastructure. This novel biosensor technology could provide much-needed rapid testing, at a cost of $2 per test, for these widespread viral diseases. With a five-year grant from NIH, the team will continue technology development and validation and begin testing the prototype in Grenada.

Which fatal neurological NTD now has an all-oral treatment, fexinidazole, capable of curing all stages of the disease in ten days?

Guinea worm disease

River blindness

Sleeping sickness

Leishmaniasis

Fexinidazole, the first all-oral cure for sleeping sickness, a fatal neurological disease, was approved in 2018. The drug, which was developed by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, cures all stages of the disease in ten days, replacing previous treatments that involved two weeks of intravenous injections at a hospital.

In 2018, the drug moxidectin was approved by FDA for treatment against which NTD, becoming the first new treatment against it in 20 years? (Hint: This disease is caused by the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus.)

River blindness

Trachoma

Lymphatic filariasis

Guinea worm disease

River blindness, aka onchocerciasis, saw a milestone in 2018 when moxidectin was approved by FDA. As the first new treatment for river blindness in 20 years, the drug has added ammunition to the fight against this disfiguring and blinding disease. The treatment was developed by Medicines Development for Global Health, with funding from the Global Health Investment Fund and support from the WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases.

In September 2019, the first patient was dosed in a phase 3 trial for an oral dispersible formulation of praziquantel designed for children, to treat which disease? (Hint: This parasitic disease is also known as bilharzia or snail fever.)

Mycetoma

Yaws

Hookworm

Schistosomiasis

Praziquantel is undergoing testing to treat schistosomiasis, a disease that causes liver damage or kidney failure if left untreated. The oral dispensable formulation, designed for children, began phase 3 clinical trials in late 2019. Based on trial outcomes, developers hope to submit the product for regulatory approval in 2021, for eventual approval and distribution in 2022.

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