login
Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
Researchers Discover Potential New One-dose Malaria Drug
"The parasite has demonstrated a frustrating ability to outwit new medicines, from quinine to today's unsettling increased tolerance to artemisinin derivatives," he said in a statement.
"We are delighted that our scientists could provide this potential new malaria therapy, based on an unprecedented chemical structure and directed to a novel target."
The drug was tested on mice infected with a strain of malaria that typically kills them within a week.
A single large dose of the drug cured all of the five infected mice which received it. Half of the six mice which received a smaller dose were cured and the cure rate rose to 90 percent when mice were given three doses of the smaller amount.
There has been little economic incentive for developing new malaria drugs because the disease primarily strikes in the world's most impoverished nations.
The compound, dubbed NITD609, was developed through a partnership involving the pharmaceutical giant Novartis, several non-profit organizations, US and Singapore government agencies and researchers at universities in the United States, Switzerland, Thailand, and Great Britain.
The drug was discovered by screening the Novartis library of 12,000 natural products and synthetic compounds to find compounds active against the most deadly malaria parasite.
The first screen turned up 275 compounds and the list was narrowed to 17 potential candidates.
"From the beginning, NITD609 stood out because it looked different, in terms of its structure and chemistry, from all other currently used antimalarials," Winzeler said in a statement.
"The ideal new malaria drug would not just be a modification of existing drugs, but would have entirely novel features and mechanism of action. NITD609 does."
Further animal studies are underway and researchers are in the process of getting approval for early-stage human trials.
Source-AFP
|
|
|
More News on: Drug Toxicity, Malaria-water, Malaria, Mosquito Diseases, Signature Drug Toxicity, Fever
 Comment & Contribute
|
Medwonders Health Network
- Health News Index
 | Quiz on Malaria Malaria is a common parasitic disease of the tropics, resulting in million deaths every year. Early detection and adequate treatment at the right time can reduce deaths due to malaria. Test your knowledge on this condition by taking this quiz. 
|
- News Quick Links
 |
Malaria
Complete Medindia Resources
|
| News Categories: |
| » | Report: A Lot of Americans Have No Access to Health Care |
| » | Greece Faces Humanitarian Crisis as Health Care Access Declines in EU, Doctors Group Warns |
| » | HCCI Report Says Rising Prices for Care Responsible for Increased Healthcare Costs for Privately Insured Americans |
| » | Treatment in ED is Based on Children's Insurance Status |
| » | US Spends Most on Healthcare Without Providing Superior Care |
| More Insurance News | |
|
