An international consortium led by Brazilian researchers hopes to speed up the discovery of new drugs to be used in the treatment of malaria, visceral leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease.
Chagas and leishmaniasis are categorised as neglected tropical diseases because they affect mainly poor populations in low-income countries and attract less treatment and research funding than major diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
The consortium involves researchers at the universities of Campinas (Unicamp) and São Paulo (USP), both in São Paulo state, and the international organisations Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).