Novartis and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have partnered to advance development of Novartis’ drug candidate, KDU731, for treating cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic disease.

KDU731 is a cryptosporidium lipid kinase phosphatidylinositol-4-OH kinase inhibitor, which Novartis says has been shown to treat cryptosporidium infection in preclinical models and is currently undergoing safety studies prior to the initiation of clinical trials. Under the agreement, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide $6.5 million to support the development of the drug candidate for treating children by the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD).

NITD is a Novartis research institute dedicated to the discovery and development of new medicines to treat malaria, cryptosporidiosis, and three major kinetoplastid diseases: human African trypanosomiasis (i.e., sleeping sickness), Chagas disease (a tropical parasitic disease), and leishmaniasis (a parasitic disease).

Source: Novartis