There is a significant need for improved treatments for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis, diseases caused by filarial worm infection. In particular, an agent able to selectively kill adult worms (macrofilaricide) would be expected to substantially augment the benefits of mass drug administration (MDA) with current microfilaricides, and to provide a solution to treatment of onchocerciasis / loiasis co-infection, where MDA is restricted. We have identified a novel macrofilaricidal agent, Tylosin A (TylA), which acts by targeting the worm-symbiont Wolbachia bacterium. Chemical modification of TylA leads to improvements in anti-Wolbachia activity and oral pharmacokinetic properties; an optimized analog (ABBV-4083) has been selected for clinical evaluation.
对于盘尾丝虫病和淋巴丝虫病这两种由丝虫感染引起的疾病,亟需改善治疗方法。特别是,一种能够选择性地杀死成虫的药物(杀大虫剂)有望显著提高目前微丝虫杀灭剂大规模药物管理(
MDA)的效益,并为盘尾丝虫病/丝虫病合并感染的治疗提供解决方案,而大规模药物管理在此类合并感染中受到限制。我们已经发现了一种新型杀大虫剂
泰乐菌素A(TylA),它通过靶向寄生虫共生体沃尔巴克氏菌发挥作用。对TylA进行
化学修饰可提高抗沃尔巴克氏菌活性和口服药代动力学特性;一种经过优化的类似物(ABBV-4083)已被选中用于临床评估。