If you have a dog or cat, you may have given your pet flavored chewable tablets to prevent ticks. What if you could take a similar drug to prevent Lyme disease infection?
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is developing a pill for humans that can protect against tick-borne diseases for weeks at a time. This tablet does not contain any delicious flavorings. February, Irvine, Calif.-based biotechnology company Announces results from small early-stage trial This drug can kill ticks in humans 24 hours after taking it, and its effects have been shown to last up to 30 days.
“What we envision is something that protects you before a tick bites you,” says Tarsus CEO Bobby Azamian.
Lyme disease is a rapidly growing problem in the United States, with approximately 476,000 people reported to be diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease each year. Latest data From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although this number is likely an overestimate, as many patients receive treatment after tick bites even though they have no confirmed infection, it does highlight the burden of Lyme disease on the healthcare system. According to researchers at the CDC and Yale University. Reaching approximately $1 billion annually.
disease is caused by bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick. In most cases, it takes about 36 to 48 hours after the tick attaches itself for the bacteria to spread. Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic bull’s-eye skin rash.
There is no commercially available vaccine for Lyme disease, so current prevention methods include using insect repellents such as DEET and permethrin, and wearing closed shoes, long pants, and long sleeves in tick-infested areas. It is included.
“Despite being told to test for ticks, use DEET, and soak our clothes with permethrin, the incidence of tick-borne diseases remains low,” said Paul Owerter, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. “We’re seeing it increase every year,” he said. A medical scientist who studies Lyme disease.
More effective treatment strategies would be welcome, Auwaerter said, especially since Lyme disease can sometimes cause serious health problems. Antibiotics are usually effective if taken early, but are ineffective in about 5 to 10 percent of patients. Symptoms may last longer For weeks or months. If left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints and cause arthritis. It can also settle in the heart and nervous system, causing persistent fatigue, numbness, and weakness.
The experimental drug Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is testing is a formulation of rotilaner, a drug that paralyzes and kills parasites by interfering with the transmission of signals between nerve cells. Rotilaner is already approved as a veterinary drug under the trade name Credelio for the treatment of fleas and ticks in dogs and cats.
“Our animals have better options for tick prevention than we do,” says Linden Hu, a professor of immunology at Tufts Medical School who led the Tarsus trial. “There are many drugs and vaccines available for dogs and cats, but we don’t have any.”
