Visceral leishmaniasis treatment: What do we have, what do we need and how to deliver it?

Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected tropical disease in terms of drug discovery and development. Most antileishmanial drugs are highly toxic, present resistance issues or require hospitalization, being therefore not adequate to the field. Recently improvements have been achieved by combination therapy, reducing the time and cost of treatment. Nonetheless, new drugs are still urgently needed.In this review, we describe the current visceral leishmaniasis (VL) treatments and their limitations. We also discuss the new strategies in the drug discovery field including the development and implementation of high-throughput screening (HTS) assays and the joint efforts of international teams to deliver clinical candidates.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights• Current leishmaniasis treatments are not adequate. • The great need for better drugs is being addressed by research centers and NGOs. • Recent developments in drug assays have greatly aided efforts in the leishmaniasis drug discovery field. • The drug development process and a target product profile are discussed.