Ivermen – Ivermectin Research for Malaria Elimination Network

Academia, donors, civil society and industry met to discuss the concept of ivermectin mass drug administration for malaria transmission control and explore the potential for collaboration. 

The 68^th American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting held last year was the perfect site for the malaria community to review ongoing work and trials testing the concept of ivermectin mass drug administration for malaria transmission control. In an effort to enhance global engagement within the malaria community, the MESA Alliance (funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and hosted by ISGlobal), provided a platform for discussion and knowledge sharing across academia, donors, civil society and industry.

Following up on previous meetings and as a response to significant recent progress in this area, research groups were brought together to present their experiences and approaches of the trials using ivermectin as a complementary vector control tool to reduce malaria transmission, identifying outstanding issues and the potential for further collaboration. The investigators shared updates on the trials and the importance of additional results that can complement the emerging evidence, including cost-effectiveness, modelling data to extend projections to larger populations, environmental impact, community acceptability, and the potential for resistance. At the end of the meeting, both the differences and the commonalities across the trials were seen as a strength when moving along the policy pathway towards a new recommended vector control strategy.

The importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing among the malaria community, but also across other areas such as the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) community, was the starting point for the IVERMEN Briefing, a gathering that brought together a wider scope of stakeholders, ranging from academia, funders, pharmaceutical industry and the generics manufacturers. The concept of ivermectin mass drug administration for malaria and disease control by the neglected tropical diseases was discussed, in an effort to begin to define the best approaches to work together in order to advance this space. Following updates from the ivermectin field trials for malaria, alternative technologies that promise to extend the duration and impact of ivermectin were reviewed. Finally, funders involved in ivermectin programs shared some updates and comments. It was agreed that a collaborative approach among all actors in the space is critical to moving forward.

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Read the summary report of the IVERMEN Briefing. 

Browse the Ivermectin research landscape in MESA Track. 

Dear IVERMEN Members,

Lots of excitement surrounding ivermectin for malaria control lately. An IVERMEN meeting was held at the 68^th annual ASTMH meeting last November to update the community to ongoing ivermectin MDA trials. There are currently ivermectin MDA field trials funded and in the planning or execution stages in: The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Mozambique, Senegal, and Thailand.

Read the summary report of the IVERMEN Briefing. 

We have added several additional people to the mailing list as we felt your interest and support in ivermectin would warrant this, if you wish to be removed please let us know.

There have been numerous publications on ivermectin for malaria control of late including:

• Ivermectin Roadmap 2020 – Guidance document for research and policy on the development of ivermectin for malaria control

• Slater et al. 2020 – Modelling study on the use of ivermectin for malaria control

• Navarro et al. 2020 – Systematic review on the safety of high-dose ivermectin

• Nicolas et al. 2020 – Systematic review on the safety of ivermectin in pregnancy

• Singh et al. 2020 – Laboratory investigation of ivermectin and ivermectin hybrids against liver (P. berghei) and blood stage (P. falciparum) efficacy of ivermectin and ivermectin hybrids

• Metzger et al. 2019 – Clinical trial investigating causal prophylaxis of ivermectin in P. falciparum infected humans

• Azevedo et al. 2019 – Laboratory investigation of ivermectin and avermectins against asexual and sexual stages of P. berghei

• de Carvalho et al. 2019 – Laboratory investigation of ivermectin against asexual and sexual stages of P. falciparum

• Atif et al. 2019 – Laboratory investigation of impact of ivermectin on An. gambiae glutamate-gated chloride ion channels

• Kobylinski et al. 2019 – Clinical trial investigating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and mosquito-lethal efficacy against Greater Mekong Subregion Anopheles of ivermectin, dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine, and primaquine in healthy Thai volunteers

• Smit et al. 2019 – Clinical trial investigating mosquito-lethal efficacy of ivermectin when administered via direct skin feeding or membrane feeding in falciparum infect Kenyan volunteers

• Dreyer et al. 2019 –  Field investigation on mosquito-lethal efficacy of ivermectin and fipronil treated cattle against wild An. albimimanus in Belize

• Siewe Fodjo et al. 2019 – Commentary on the potential impact of ivermectin mass drug administration for malaria control on onchocerciasis

• Mekuriaw et al. 2019 – Clinical trial investigating the mosquito-lethal efficacy of ivermectin treated Ethiopian adults against An. arabiensis

The Ivermectin Research for Malaria Elimination Network (IVERMEN) was formed during the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in New Orleans in November 2014, when a group of academics, members of different NGOs and funding agencies met to discuss the latest evidence on the potential use of ivermectin as a malaria vector control tool.

The main goal of the group is to establish a common research agenda to generate evidence base on whether ivermectin-based strategies can add to the emerging arsenal to interrupt malaria transmission.