This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Leishmaniasis treatment Impavido available in the US
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Impavido, the only FDA-approved oral treatment for visceral, mucosal and cutaneous leishmaniasis, is now available in the United States, according to press release.
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is transmitted through bites of infected sand flies, according to the CDC. Skin sores due to cutaneous leishmaniasis may heal on their own; however, Leishmania can spread from the skin to the nasooropharyngeal mucosa and cause mucosal leishmaniasis, the release said. The disease may damage nasal and pharyngeal structures and could lead to death due to complicating aspiration pneumonia. Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by systemic infection and may be fatal if left untreated.
In the United States, leishmaniasis infections typically occur among travelers returning from endemic regions and military personnel returning from deployment in Asia and the Middle East.
Findings published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases demonstrated that Impavido (miltefosine; Knight Therapeutics Inc.) was well-tolerated and effectively treated complicated Old World cutaneous and mucosal leishmaniasis, making it an ideal first-line treatment option. The drug is approved for use in patients aged 12 years and older, according to the release. It is available in Germany, India, Israel and the U.S.
“Making such an important treatment option for leishmaniasis available in the United States will help those very few patients who need this important therapy,” Todd MacLaughlan, CEO of Profounda, the pharmaceutical company marketing the drug in the U.S., said in the release. “With the launch of Impavido, we look forward to working with the infectious disease community to create awareness about the disease and this newly available treatment option.”
Reference: Mosimann V, et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2016;doi:10.1093/ofid/ofw008.
Disclosure: MacLaughlan is an employee of Profounda.