Scientific Publication

A DBS method for quantitation of the new oral trypanocidal drug fexinidazole and its active metabolites

Abstract

Fexinidazole (FEX) is a nitroimidazole being developed as a new trypanocide treatment for human African trypanosomiasis/sleeping sickness. A specific, accurate and reproducible assay was developed for quantitation of FEX and its metabolites M1 and M2 in dried blood spots (DBS), collected via finger-prick from healthy subjects. DBS samples were stable for 24 h at 37°C with 95% relative humidity, and 58 weeks desiccated at room temperature, making DBS finger-prick sampling a simple, practical method for determining FEX, M1 and M2 concentrations in clinical studies in Africa. This research is part of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)