West Africa Lassa fever Consortium (WALC)

The West Africa Lassa fever Consortium (WALC) was established in 2021 to develop an end-to-end framework for Lassa fever treatment, extending from clinical development to product availability, incorporating a flexible, multi-drug trial platform, that is regionally driven and owned.

To date, no treatment has been specifically developed and none is registered for Lassa Fever, a viral haemorrhagic fever present exclusively in few countries in West Africa. There is therefore no set path and no classical financial motive to develop treatments for Lassa Fever.

While Lassa fever is a public health priority in parts of West Africa, where it is endemic, the caseload is concentrated in countries where patients or health systems do not have sufficient purchasing power to be an attractive investment case for classic pharmaceutical business to develop therapies.

Apart from supportive care, only one drug – ribavirin – is available to treat it, but the evidence-base for its effectiveness is weak. There are potential candidate treatments to test clinically, but the path to registration and the methodologies for use have not been developed.

A coordinated approach using a portfolio of treatments within platform trials is therefore crucial to improve efficiencies and maximise chances of having effective, affordable treatments available for Lassa fever.

Find more information on how the WALC was delivered through our archived page here.