Scots scientists make killer disease drug breakthrough

SCOTTISH scientists have made a major breakthrough in the development of a new treatment for a killer tropical disease.

Sleeping sickness, one of the world's most neglected killer diseases, claims the lives of an estimated 70,000 people every year in sub-Saharan Africa.

The researchers at the Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) at Dundee University – working with scientists at York University and Toronto – have identified a compound which can kill the parasite which causes the fatal disease.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) – commonly known as sleeping sickness – is caused by a single-celled parasite called a trypanosome and is transmitted by the bite of the bloodsucking tsetse fly.

Professor Paul Wyatt, director of drug discovery for the tropical diseases programme at Dundee, said: "We now have a valid drug target for HAT and have found leads for drugs which can be dosed orally. These two findings represent significant strides in the development of a full-blown drug against sleeping sickness suitable for clinical trials."

The research team hope the drugs may be ready for human clinical trials in 18 months.