EDCTP has so far contributed to 15 medical solutions already making a difference for the individuals and communities that need them most.
These achievements reflect different routes from research to impact, including:
1. New or improved medical products, delivering critically needed innovations;
2. Expanded uses of existing products helping address the specific needs of underserved populations, including children and pregnant women;
3. Better or repurposed uses and treatment approaches, ensuring that the latest clinical evidence informs how existing interventions can be used more effectively in prevention and care.
Together, these stories show how EDCTP-funded research moves from promising research results into real-world impact - through regulatory approval, changes in policies, or use in practice. And these success stories keep growing as we uncover the longer-term impact of more than 20 years of global collaboration in science addressing areas of highly unmet need and societal value.
New and better medical solutions already saving and improving lives
RTS,S and R21/Matrix-M are the first vaccines against malaria and, more broadly, against any parasitic disease. Both vaccines stimulate an immune response that prevents malaria infection.
Coartem® Baby is the first approved malaria treatment specifically designed for newborns and young infants weighing 2 to less than 5 kg. It is a dissolvable tablet that can be mixed with breast milk, has a sweet cherry flavour to make administration easier, and delivers precise dosing.
Triomune Baby/Junior became the first fixed-dose combination medicine developed specifically for children with HIV and paved the way for additional improved combination therapies for first- and second-line HIV treatment in children.
This new fixed-dose combination therapy of albendazole/ivermectin targets five types of parasitic worms (four soil-transmitted helminth infections and lymphatic filariasis), which will significantly improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of large-scale interventions.
Arpraziquantel is the first child-friendly medicine in an oro-dispersible formulation to treat and cure schistosomiasis. It is easy to administer and adapted for rural and tropical settings, offering high efficacy with minimal side effects.
Fexinidazole Winthrop and Acoziborole Winthrop are two new oral treatments for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), known as sleeping sickness. Fexinidazole is the first all-oral therapy, while Acoziborole is the first single-dose, one-day treatment for the most common form of the disease.
This new therapy, a single high-dose of liposomal Amphotericin B, is as effective as the traditional week-long regimen, easier to administer, and causes fewer side effects. It is now the WHO-recommended therapy for cryptococcal meningitis.
A simple, three-part package combining screening, preventive treatment and community adherence support significantly cuts deaths among people starting HIV treatment with advanced disease.
Eurartesim® is a fixed-dose artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) containing dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHAPQ) for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria.
Molbio Truenat, with MTB-Plus and RIF-Dx assays, is a portable, battery-powered molecular diagnostic tool for tuberculosis (TB) testing directly in primary health care settings.
Pyramax® is an established antimalarial medicine whose safety and efficacy have been progressively expanded through EDCTP-supported research to reach more patient groups who lack specific treatment options, including children, pregnant women and patients requiring re-treatment.
The PredART trial showed that prednisone, a common and inexpensive steroid drug used to treat Tuberculosis-Associated Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (TB-IRIS), can also be used to prevent it.
A three-drug antiretroviral regimen given to HIV-positive women in late pregnancy and through breastfeeding cuts HIV transmission to babies safely, without requiring mothers to stop breastfeeding.
Moxidectin is an oral medicine for onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness. It was first approved by the US FDA in 2018 for people aged 12 and older. Research co-funded through EDCTP2 and continued under Global Health EDCTP3 has since extended its use to children as young as four.
