A new compound that can kill the
parasite that causes malaria is being developed by researchers as a
potential treatment for the disease. If successful, it could lead
to an affordable antimalarial drug that requires only a single dose
and that also reduces transmission of the disease.
The malaria parasite Plasmodium
falciparum has developed resistance to many current drugs, meaning
that new therapies are needed to overcome this problem. The
compound (called DDD107498) identified by Professor Ian Gilbert and
colleagues at the University of Dundee's Drug Discovery Unit works
by blocking protein synthesis within the parasite and is effective
against multiple life cycles.
DDD107498 has been shown to be
successful in mouse models of malaria and is now beginning
preclinical development. The researchers estimate that a drug
developed using the compound would cost around US$1 per treatment,
which would make it affordable for patients living in low-income
countries that are most severely affected by malaria.
Professor Gilbert said: "The
research reveals that DDD107498 has the potential to treat malaria
with a single dose, prevent the spread of malaria from infected
people and protect a person from developing the disease in the
first place. There is still some way to go before the compound can
be given to patients. However, we are very excited by the progress
that we have made."
Dr David Reddy, CEO of Medicines
for Malaria Venture (MMV), said: "Malaria continues to threaten
almost half of the world's population - the half that can least
afford it. The collaboration to identify and progress the compound,
led by the Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee, drew on
MMV's network of scientists from Melbourne to San Diego. The
publication of the research is an important step and a clear
testament to the power of partnership."
Dr Kevin Read, also based at the
Drug Discovery Unit at Dundee, said: "The compound we have
discovered works in a different way to all other antimalarial
medicines on the market or in clinical development, which means
that it has great potential to work against current drug-resistant
parasites. It targets part of the machinery that makes proteins
within the parasite that causes malaria."
Dr Michael Chew from the Wellcome
Trust, which provides funding for the Drug Discovery Unit at Dundee
and MMMV, added: "The need for new antimalarial drugs is more
urgent than ever before, with emerging strains of the parasite now
showing resistance against the best available drugs. These strains
are already present at the Myanmar-Indian border and it's a race
against time to stop resistance spreading to the most vulnerable
populations in Africa. The discovery of this new antimalarial
agent, which has shown remarkable potency against multiple stages
of the malaria lifecycle, is an exciting prospect in the hunt for
viable new treatments."
The paper, A novel multiple-stage antimalarial agent that inhibits protein
synthesis, is published in Nature.