Malaria cases increase at a slow but continued rate. There is a vital need for new antimalarial treatments able to overcome drug resistance for a more sustained control of the disease.
The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund has announced new investments in the development of a new prophylactic vaccine against malaria, a new anti-malarial drug, and product development projects against neglected tropical diseases.
Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) has launched a call for new chemical compounds to screen against malaria through its MMV open innovation (MMVoi) initiative. Submissions from both industry and academia allow for compounds that have already been synthesized but not yet tested against malaria to be identified.
Scientists from the University of Delhi and affiliated organizations have reported the discovery and preclinical characterization of novel compounds with antiplasmodial activity.
Working from a lead tetrahydro-beta-carboline acid product which had been found to have antimalarial properties and to act as an inhibitor of MEP, Virginia Tech and University of Georgia scientists and their collaborators synthesized related compounds.