Research & Development

Our current development focus

Our current development focus

Our current development focus: A broad spectrum anthelmintic for tropical Infectious diseases and zoonosis

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) are a group of parasitic, bacterial and viral diseases that cause substantial illness for more than 1.4 billion people globally. Directly affecting the world's most impoverished population, NTDs impair physical and cognitive development, lead to mother and child illness and death, and trap the poor in a cycle of poverty and disease. Schistosomiasis, foodborne trematodiases and taeniasis/cysticercosis listed among the 17 most common NTDs by WHO and the US FDA。

Among these diseases, schistosomiasis is one of the most ‘‘neglected’’ tropical diseases, affecting an estimated over 240 million people (~50% children) in 76 countries. Infection occurs when people come into contact with fresh water infested with larval forms of Schistosoma and causing chronic anemia and inflammation associated with severe disability among children and adults. Several million people all over the world suffer from severe morbidity as a consequence of schistosomiasis. Foodborne trematodiases are zoonosis including infections mainly caused by a liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis and Opisthorchis viverrini ) and a lung fluke (Paragoniiasis). Among those, clonorchiasis is caused when people eat raw and partially cooked or poorly processed fish containing metacercaria. It is a major foodborne zoonosis infecting nearly 20 million people are infected, mostly in Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Thailand, China, Korea and the Far East regions of Russia. Clonorchis sinensis is known as a group 1 biological carcinogen lead to cholangiocarcinoma (hepatobilliary cancer) in humans. 

 Recently, our lead candidate TL-010 was granted with an orphan drug designation in the treatment of schistosomiasis by the US FDA. We have successfully completed the clinical phase I trial after IND submission to the US FDA and South Africa regulatory agency (SAHPRA). We believe that there is a truly unmet medical need to develop TL-010 as the best broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug for the treatment of all forms of schistosomiasis and foodborne trematodiasis.