Malaria momentum

Issue 20 | Spring/Summer 2007

Report: Steve Pogonowski

Professor Bill Charman and Associate Professor Susan Charman with Medicines for Malaria Venture chief scientific officer Dr Carl Craft

New synthetic drugs being developed by scientists at the Victorian College of Pharmacy are on track to cure malaria with a single oral dose.

It was acclaimed as a breakthrough in the treatment of one of the developing world's most crippling diseases when first released in 2004.

Three years later, work on the previously unattainable goal of a single, oral dose cure for malaria continues to progress well.

Phase 1 clinical trials have been successfully completed and the second generation project is on target to select a trial drug candidate by the end of 2007. Studies on humans are planned for 2009.

Malaria is a tropical disease caused by a mosquito-borne parasite and each year kills up to three million people worldwide, particularly in Africa, Asia and South America. It also accounts for a large proportion of the death of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.

Associate Professor Susan Charman, director of the Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation (CDCO) at the College, said new second-generation synthetic peroxide drugs being developed by the project team would be affordable and more effective than currently available treatments, which require a three-day treatment course.

"It is early days and the chosen candidate drug still has to be shown to be safe and effective in humans. Our hope is that one day, this simple, effective and affordable treatment can aid in the fight against this dreadful disease," Associate Professor Charman said.

She said Monash CDCO scientists, along with chemists and biologists from the USA and Europe, were recognised earlier this year at a meeting in Kampala, Uganda, with an award for the Medicines for Malaria Venture International Drug Discovery Project of the Year in 2006, which was presented by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

"This award is a tremendous honour that not only recognises the significant dedication and achievements of numerous scientists at Monash and others around the world but also highlights the potential for international collaborations to actively and effectively progress drug discovery research in malaria and other neglected diseases."