Joel Bellenson, CEO of Upstream, said the animal testing may determine whether one or more of the drug candidates have sufficient anti-parasitic activity to proceed down a path to commercialization.
Previously, Upstream has demonstrated in vitro efficacy and in vivo (in animals) safety for potential treatments for Leishmaniasis, trypanaosomiasis, and malaria.
The leishmaniasis testing will occur at Mulago Hospital in Kampala under the direction of Joseph Olobo, associate professor of Microbiology, Department of Parasitology and Microbiology at Makerere University.
Mr Bellenson said: “If we are successful, we believe there will be a strong market for our drugs in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, which include the fastest growing economies in the world. In addition to these growing markets, we could monetize our drugs via the FDA priority voucher program.”