Sixty Degrees Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SXTP), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing new medicines for infectious diseases, on Wednesday, announced that it has expanded a clinical trial for tafenoquine in treating babesiosis, following a clinical trial agreement with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tafenoquine in combination with standard care for hospitalized babesiosis patients, addressing a critical unmet medical need for this tick-borne illness.
The study, part of an ongoing clinical trial at Tufts Medical Center, Yale University, and Rhode Island Hospital, will focus on two primary endpoints: time to sustained clinical resolution of symptoms and time to molecular cure as measured by a nucleic acid test (NAT) approved by the FDA.
Tafenoquine is an 8-aminoquinoline derivative antimalarial. It is approved for malaria prophylaxis in the United States under the brand name ARAKODA.
With cases of babesiosis rising, particularly among elderly and immunocompromised individuals, the study's expansion will help accelerate recruitment during the 2025 tick season.
Geoffrey Dow, CEO of Sixty Degrees Pharmaceuticals, emphasized the importance of this collaboration, stating, "We are excited to work with Brigham and Women's Hospital to explore tafenoquine as a potential treatment for severe babesiosis, which continues to pose a significant health threat."
This expanded trial, which will recruit 24 to 33 patients starting in the summer of 2025, is part of Sixty Degrees' broader efforts to establish tafenoquine as a treatment option for babesiosis, with the market opportunity estimated to exceed 400,000 patients by 2035.
Currently, SXTP is trading at $2.16, up by 11.08%
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