For many years, one of the driving forces for the development of drugs has
been, and still is, the pharmaceutical industry, but the need for therapeutic agents
regarding unprofitable diseases makes necessary a change in this situation. Parasitic
diseases are a good example since the quantity and safety of many drugs currently in
use are inadequate, and the development of new agents is insufficient. In the paper
herein, we discuss the main methodologies used for the development and discovery of
antiparasitics, the new trends and prospects, as well as the first results achieved by
supranational programs and consortia created for such purposes.
Keywords: New approaches, New drugs, Parasitic diseases.
