Abstract text
The Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium program (led by Merck) aims to close the treatment gap for preschool-aged children with schistosomiasis. Also known as bilharzia, schistosomiasis is a worm infection which affects almost 240 million people, living mainly in poor resource-setting countries in Africa and in a few countries in South America and Asia.
Since 1980, there have been tablets with the active ingredient praziquantel, which kills the adult worm. However, the disease itself can only be eliminated if the transmission cycle gets interrupted which requires treatment of all age groups. With significant international efforts and a tablet donation programme using Merck's praziquantel worth millions, the disease prevalence in many countries has been significantly reduced, but not yet eliminated.
The potential new pediatric treatment option for young children (as of the age of 6 and under) is an important milestone on the way of elimination as the target population counts an estimated 50 million preschool-aged children in need. The regulatory dossier is undergoing EMA review.