Treatment trial impacts
1 – Implementation of a clinical platform trial in West Africa identifying new and more effective drugs to treat Lassa fever and testing their efficacy, tolerance and safety.
INTEGRATE has set up an international clinical platform trial to efficiently test new drug candidates – in line with international ethical and scientific standards – in the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) and the Federal Medical Center Owo (FMCO) in Nigeria.
Additional clinical study centers will also be set up in other West African countries such as Liberia, Benin, Guinea and a third site in Nigeria in Ebonyi State.
2 – Strengthened capacity for clinical research in West Africa through technology transfer and training.
The INTEGRATE project will also strengthen the capacity of West African research and medical facilities to treat Lassa fever patients, and to initiate, plan, implement, and coordinate clinical trials and research on emerging infectious diseases. This will be done by setting up and expanding laboratories, proposing PhD and Masters degree programmes, and creating training materials and workshops. INTEGRATE will establish a multi-country, multicenter network of clinical researchers, laboratory experts, scientific engineers, social science specialists and regional sponsorship capacities in West Africa.
3 – Increased awareness about Lassa fever within local communities
INTEGRATE will bring together social science researchers, operational experts and local partners with experience in Lassa fever awareness activities to work with local communities to fight misinformation on clinical trials and Lassa fever, destigmatize the disease, and prevent future outbreaks.