Visceral Leishmaniasis

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), transmitted by the female sandfly, is the second-deadliest parasitic disease after malaria. In 2014, 90 percent of all new VL cases occurred in six countries – Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Without treatment, VL is nearly always fatal.

Epidemics of VL and HIV/AIDS compound each other. VL accelerates disease progression in people with HIV by suppressing their immune systems, and people with HIV are at substantially greater risk of becoming infected with VL, particularly if they are not receiving antiretroviral therapy.

VL is one of 10 neglected tropical diseases targeted for control or elimination by 2020. Our antifungal medicine AmBisome^® (amphotericin B liposome for injection) is recommended by the World Health Organization as a first-line treatment for VL. A 2010 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated that a single dose of AmBisome was as effective and less expensive than conventional VL therapy containing amphotericin.

Since 1992, Gilead has partnered with the World Health Organization and other groups to make AmBisome available at discounted prices in developing countries. In September 2016, Gilead announced an expansion of this partnership by committing $20 million in funding and drug donations to expand access to diagnostic services and treatment for VL. The donation, which includes 380,000 vials of AmBisome, supports national plans to control and eliminate the disease.