Focusing on Treatments for Neglected Diseases

The first clinical trial testing two drugs to treat Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever is underway in Turkey with impressive results so far, and UTMB’s Dr. Gary Kobinger is one of the forces behind this pivotal moment in finding a cure for a disease that produces thousands of cases each year. CCHF also has a mortality rate as high as 40 percent.

Prior to joining UTMB in 2021 as the Director of the Galveston National Laboratory, Dr. Kobinger was the Founder and CEO of a non-profit called GuardRx, which was established to fill an important void in the commercial pharmaceutical chain. The organization focuses on developing drugs and vaccines that big pharmaceutical companies are not interested in due to the limited market size or sporadic nature of outbreaks. It is the organization that helped to make this clinical trial possible.

UTMB is now working with GuardRX, as well as other funding partners, on this CCHF project in Turkey. The GNL has a history of working with the ticks that cause the disease in high containment in the BSL-4 lab. GuardRX works with its partners to provide highly documented clinical data packages that meet regulatory requirements and allow for further clinical progression during outbreaks. Drugs also are manufactured for global stockpiles to ensure outbreak preparedness.

The innovativeness of the effort, as well as the excitement of finally testing treatments for the disease, is detailed in this July 19 article from The Telegraph.