Astellas joins new alliance to combat paediatric schistosomiasis

Astellas has announced its participation in a new private-public partnership that aims to develop new methods of treating the parasitic disease schistosomiasis among younger patients.

The company will ally with TI Pharma, Merck KGaA and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute to create a new paediatric formulation of praziquantel to combat the disease – also known as bilharzia – in preschool children.

Schistosomiasis is a chronic disease caused by parasitic worms and affects more than 200 million people, mostly in developing nations, but there are currently no adequate treatments for very young sufferers.

Dr Annalisa Jenkins, head of global drug development and medical at Merck Serono and president of the consortium, said: "The resources and expertise brought into this consortium will ultimately support scientific and medical innovation and contribute to the development of the next generation of treatments."

This comes after Astellas allied with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative last month to carry out new research into tropical illnesses.