Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $395,978 to the World Health Organization to support a trial evaluating the efficacy of the antibiotic Cefixime to treat syphilis in non-pregnant women. Currently, the only WHO-endorsed treatment for pregnant women is penicillin, which crosses the placental barrier and protects the unborn infant against congenital syphilis. Recent shortages of penicillin have made finding alternative treatments more urgent. If Cefixime is found to be effective in non-pregnant women, this will inform its viability as a treatment for pregnant women in future trials.
This falls within Open Philanthropy’s focus area of scientific research.