Recent advances in malaria drug discovery

Abstract

This digest covers some of the most relevant progress in malaria drug disco very published betwe en 2010 and 2012. There is an urgent need to develop new antimalarial drugs. Such drugs can target the blood stage of the disease to alleviate the symptoms, the liver stage to prevent relapses, and the transmission stage to protect other humans. The pipeline for the blood stage is becoming robust, but this should not be a source of complacency, as the current therapies set a high standard. Drug disco very efforts directed towards the liver and transmission stages are in their infancy but are receiving increasing attention as targeting these stages could be instrumental in eradicating malaria.

Small Molecule Screen for Candidate Antimalarials Targeting Plasmodium Kinesin-5

“…Similarly, the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) 2 box small chemical collection of 400 lead or probe-like compounds arrived dissolved in DMSO at 10 mM each. Upon arrival and prior to assay screen use, NCI and MMV stocks were stored at Ϫ20°C, and diluted in DMSO (ultrapure grade; Sigma) with positive displacement Pipetmen and tips into daughter plates.…”

Antimalaria Drug Development & Pipeline

“…Benzoxaborole has also emerged as a promising starting agent [22]. TDR84420 was identified as a potent screening hit [WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR)] [23].…”

Continuous flow synthesis of antimalarials: opportunities for distributed autonomous chemical manufacturing

“…The global antimalarial drug discovery portfolio has significantly improved over the last 15 years. [6][7][8][9] In part this is attributable to the coordinative work of the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) which were both established in 1999. Amongst others, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has made significant financial contribution to aid this work.…”