Context
Toxoplasmosis is a pandemic parasite infection affecting all hot-blood animals. Toxoplasmosis displays several clinical forms
- Congenital toxoplasmosis
- Ocular form that can lead to the blindness
- Neurotoxoplasmosis (encephalitis, behaviour disorders).
Few indicators:
- Seroprevalence = 7 to 80%, depending on countries (37% in France)
- 200 000 to 300 000 new cases in France per year.
- 800 000 to 1 000 000 patients with ocular toxoplasmosis in France. The current treatments are heavy (monitoring), not specific, and exhibit low efficiency and many adverse effects.
Technology
Therapeutic antibody fragments targeting specifically a surface antigen of the infectious tachyzoite form of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite involved in parasite binding to host cells Efficiency demonstrated in a mouse model of ocular toxoplasmosis with a singlechain variable fragment (scFv).
Advantages
- Very high specificity of the treatment.
- Higher theorical tolerance and lower monitoring than current treatments.
- In situ treatment by intravitreal injection (commonly used in ophthalmology) to treat ocular toxoplasmosis.
- Treatment appropriate to all mammalians.