SNIP-AFRICA is pleased to announce a major milestone in the fight against neonatal sepsis: the launch of the NeoSep1 clinical trial, which enrolled its first newborn at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
NeoSep1 will evaluate a novel combination of three antibiotics – fosfomycin, flomoxef, and amikacin – against five commonly used treatment regimens. The goal is to identify the most effective regimens for treating drug-resistant infections in newborns.
This trial forms part of the SNIP-AFRICA project, which brings together African and European researchers to improve neonatal sepsis care across the continent. By 2028, the trial aims to enroll 3,000 newborns across nine countries in Africa and Asia, including 1,200 in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.
With an estimated 250,000 newborn deaths from sepsis annually in Africa alone, this research addresses a critical need for effective and accessible treatments, especially in the face of rising antimicrobial resistance that threatens the effectiveness of existing therapies.
The trial is sponsored by the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) and conducted in partnership with the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, City St George’s, University of London and Penta Foundation. Results from NeoSep1, expected in 2028, have the potential to inform WHO guidelines, as well as national and institutional policies on effective antibiotic treatment regimens for newborns with sepsis.