Shortening Buruli Ulcer treatment:

WHO recommended vs. a novel beta-lactam-containing therapy

Phase II and III evaluation in West Africa

Summary of the project

BLMs4BU project (Beta-lactams for Buruli ulcer) aims to reduce from 8 to 4 weeks the treatment of Buruli ulcer by co-administering amoxicillin/clavulanate with current therapy (rifampicin/clarithromycin).

An international consortium is conducting this clinical trial in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. This skin Neglected Tropical Disease continues to affect thousands of people each year causing disability and stigma. Treatment requires 8 weeks of two antibiotics, rifampicin and clarithromycin, daily (recommended by the World Health Organization, WHO), wound care, and sometimes tissue grafting and surgery. Healing can take up to a year. This disease mainly affects people in rural environments and impoverished settings, where access to health services is limited. A shortened, highly effective, all-oral treatment would reduce healing time and would require less hospitalisation and therefore less costs, providing an easier and shorter therapy.

Objective

To assess whether BU treatment could be reduced from 8 to 4 weeks by co-administering amoxicillin/clavulanate together with the current therapy of rifampicin/clarithromycin.

0
Weeks
0
Weeks

Our Latest News

BLMs4BU Consortium at the 2nd WHO Global Meeting on Neglected Tropical Diseases

The 2nd Global Meeting on Cutaneous Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), held 24-26 March 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, was well represented by the BLMs4BU Consortium.

The BLMs4BU consortium presents an update on the clinical trial activities to the 3rd International Mycobacterium ulcerans Conference

The BLMs4BU consortium showcased cutting-edge research and advancements in Buruli ulcer (BU) treatment.

July highlights from the BLMs4BU project: We actively participated in the skin NTD-LABNET meeting in Madrid and launched a new sub-study in Côte d’Ivoire to explore Buruli ulcer patients’ journey and access barriers

Isra Cruz, member of the WHO Diagnostic Technical Advisory Group for NTDs and lead data manager of the BLMs4BU Consortium, hosted at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Madrid, Spain) a new meeting of the Skin NTD-LABNET (8-10 July).

Shedding light on the current and future on Buruli Ulcer and Leprosy treatment at the European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2023

The European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH) was held in Utrecht, Netherlands, on 20-23 November 2023, with more than 1000 attendants from all over the world.