Learn how North Carolina innovation helped deliver a revolutionary single-dose cure for one of history's most neglected diseases.
Join the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, Global Health Technologies Coalition, and North Carolina Global Health Alliance for a special event celebrating acoziborole, a groundbreaking single-dose treatment for sleeping sickness, and the North Carolina scientists whose pioneering work helped make this breakthrough possible.
The approval of acoziborole in 2026 marks a remarkable transformation in the treatment of sleeping sickness—a devastating neglected disease.
Previously, patients with sleeping sickness faced an arsenic-based treatment so toxic it killed one in twenty people. Now, acoziborole can cure the disease with a safe, single oral dose—opening a pathway towards disease elimination.
This breakthrough is the result of scientific innovation and global collaboration with important roots in North Carolina.
This is an opportunity to meet scientists involved in the discovery of acoziborole, DNDi leaders, and members of North Carolina’s biotechnology and global health communities for drinks and networking, an immersive VR experience, a short film, and a speaker program celebrating the people and partnerships behind this extraordinary achievement.
About DNDi
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is an international non-profit research and development organization that discovers, develops, and delivers safe, effective, and affordable treatments for neglected patients.
We were founded in 2003 by the medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders after they dedicated a portion of their Nobel Peace Prize award to exploring a new, alternative, not-for-profit model for developing drugs for neglected patients.
Working with partners around the world and at every stage of the drug development process, we pioneer open and collaborative drug discovery to identify promising new compounds, conduct clinical trials in remote and low-resource settings while strengthening local research capacity, and work to ensure equitable access to the game-changing treatments we develop.
Since our creation, our partnerships have delivered fourteen field-adapted and affordable treatments for six deadly diseases, saving millions of lives.
About the Global Health Technologies Coalition
GHTC is the premier advocacy organization focusing on research and development (R&D) of new global health technologies. The coalition includes more than 50 nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and aligned businesses advancing policies to accelerate the creation of new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and other tools that bring healthy lives within reach for all people.
About the North Carolina Global Health Alliance
The North Carolina Global Health Alliance is dedicated to advancing North Carolina as a center of global health. The alliance fosters collaboration and innovation in our state and region by connecting and advocating on behalf of our global health community.
