Strep A & ARF Therapeutics

The Strep A & ARF Therapeutics research team is an integral element of the END RHD program and Australian government’s mission to eliminate RHD by 2031.

The Strep A & ARF Therapeutics research team plan to accelerate research and clinical trials to improve penicillin formulation and treatment methods.  They are primarily driven to look at the current formulation of BPG in the context of it being used as secondary prophylaxis against acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and RHD. Work has already been undertaken by the team to look at the existing formulations of BPG, for example studying the pharmacology of subcutaneous versus intramuscular injections, global quality of BPG, the effects of sonication of BPG and re-purposing BPG to deliver higher doses.

This team has also developed and validated a way of measuring penicillin concentrations from dried blood spots; tiny blood volumes collected from finger prick samples onto filter paper which is a much more acceptable way of sampling from children and people living in remote and rural settings. The Strep A and ARF Therapeutics team encompass quantitative and qualitative skills, including clinical trials, product development, and pharmacokinetic modelling.