Revolutionary Single Dose Oral Treatment Set to Accelerate Global Elimination of Fatal Sleeping Sickness

New single-dose oral drug Acoziborole receives positive EMA opinion, simplifying treatment for sleeping sickness and moving Africa closer to 2030 elimination.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 18, 2026, 8:59 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from SciDev.Net

A Decisive Technological Leap in the Fight Against African Trypanosomiasis

The battle against human African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, has reached a historic turning point with the introduction of Acoziborole. For decades, this parasitic infection, transmitted by the tsetse fly, was considered a death sentence unless treated with hazardous arsenic-based injections. On February 27, 2026, the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use endorsed this three-tablet regimen, marking the first time a single oral dose has proven effective against both early and late-stage disease. By replacing weeks of supervised clinical care with a one-day therapy, the drug offers a transformational tool for health programs aiming to meet the World Health Organization’s 2030 elimination target.

Collapsing the Clinical Chain to Reach Isolated Remote Populations

Traditional sleeping sickness treatments were hindered by immense logistical barriers, including the need for cold-chain infrastructure, trained injectors, and multi-day hospitalizations. In many parts of Central and West Africa, where roads are non-existent and internet access is unavailable, reaching patients for a second follow-up visit was often impossible. Acoziborole effectively eliminates these obstacles by allowing medical teams to diagnose and treat patients during a single encounter in the field. This "test-and-treat" strategy removes the requirement for specialized hospital equipment and the painful lumbar punctures previously used to determine the stage of the infection, bringing life-saving care directly to the point of diagnosis.

Clinical Validation and High Success Rates in Central African Trials

The regulatory endorsement follows rigorous Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials conducted across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea, which currently account for the majority of global cases. These studies, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, demonstrated an 18 month success rate of up to 96% across all stages of the disease. Dr. Junior Matangila and other researchers from the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) emphasized that the drug was specifically tested in the most difficult-to-reach environments to ensure its effectiveness in real-world settings. These results provide the scientific foundation for national health programs to begin the...