Shorter Benznidazole Regimens Compared to the Standard Regimen for Chagas Disease

Summary

Chagas disease, a parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is endemic in much of Latin America and affects people throughout the world. Currently treatment with the only two drugs effective against the infection, benznidazole and nifurtimox, has significant limitations including frequent adverse effects in adult patients. However, timely treatment is key to achieving global objectives of controlling the disease. The standard treatment has a long duration (60 days). NuestroBen will test the hypothesis that shorter treatment regimens of 14 days and 28 days will be non-inferior to the standard 60-day treatment while improving the safety profile.

Timeline

Start

2021-07-28

Primary completion

2026-06-01

Completion

2026-12-01

Publications

• Marques T, Forsyth C, Barreira F, Lombas C, Blum de Oliveira B, Laserna M, Molina I, Bangher MDC, Javier Fernandez R, Lloveras S, Fernandez ML, Scapellato P, Patterson P, Garcia W, Ortiz L, Schijman A, Moreira OC, Garcia L, Viele K, Longhi S, Vaillant M, Tipple C, Fraisse L, Silvestre-Sousa A, Sosa-Estani S, Pinazo MJ. New regimens of benznidazole for the treatment of chronic Chagas disease in adult participants in indeterminate form or with mild cardiac progression (NuestroBen study): protocol for a phase III randomised, multicentre non-inferiority clinical trial. BMJ Open. 2025 Sep 30;15(9):e098079. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-098079.

Drugs

Indications