13th EUFEPS Talks

We want to invite you to the 13th EUFEPS Talks on October 16, 2023 at 4 pm CEST.

Jutta Reinhard-Rupp will give a talk with the title: "The importance of public-private partnerships to address high unmet medical needs in most neglected patients – the case of the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium".

Abstract:

Schistosomiasis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases which is highly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and affects over 240 million people. To interrupt and eliminate the disease, several parameters need to be improved: raising awareness, access to clean water, sanitation, vector control and regular treatment of infected and at-risk population. The current standard-of-care treatment is based on praziquantel (PZQ) which allows to treat school-age children and adults.

However, around 50 million preschool-aged children (PSAC) remain untreated in public health programs, mainly due to the lack of a child-friendly formulation. To address this high unmet medical need, the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium was established in 2012 to provide a treatment tailored for PSAC.

The Consortium work has resulted in the development of a dispersible tablet containing L-PZQ which is small in size, allows correct dosing and has an improved taste.

The new formulation was developed by several partners, including the public and private sectors, and supported by external funders. The full clinical development has been completed in Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya and the results have been submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) under the EU-M4All procedure for high-priority medicines intended for countries outside the European Union. A potential positive opinion by EMA would be the basis for inclusion of the potential new pediatric treatment option in the WHO list of prequalified and essential medicinal products to also support the regulatory pathway in endemic countries. When this treatment is in hands, the range of options to fight schistosomiasis will broaden so to address the needs of the most vulnerable patients– the very young children.

CV:

Jutta Reinhard-Rupp is the Head of the Global Health Institute at Merck, based in Switzerland. She drives the vision and strategy of the Institute and engages with key stakeholders within the Global Health community. Her focus is the discovery and development of innovative health solutions for most vulnerable populations such as children and their mothers in developing countries to contribute fostering human progress.

Since January 2008, she has been working at Merck in Switzerland with increasing responsibilities on the implementation of key strategic initiatives in drug discovery and development. In 2011, Jutta implemented the Merck Bioethics Advisory Panel with renowned experts from various fields of bioethics, biomedical law and religious studies. Since 2017, she is the Head of the Global Health Institute of Merck steering a comprehensive portfolio of products to control and eliminate schistosomiasis and malaria Pan-African partnership networks and fundraising are key contributors to the Institute’s success. Jutta also serves as scientific advisor at various boards.

Registration:

A registration is needed for this event. Please use the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvdOigqj0sHdJH9saS3T5fcYQ8eMm6-5ab. After the registration you will receive an E-Mail with the log-in details.