Malaria Treatment Update: New Drug Compound Could Treat Patients With Single $1 Dose

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A new malaria compound has been developed. It is a potential anti-malaria drug that can both treat symptoms and prevent its spread in one dose.

Scientists from Dundee University's Drug Discovery United and the Medicines for Malaria Venture have developed the compound DDD107498. For a single $1 dose, it could treat patients with malaria, including strains that are resistant to current available treatment, as well as prevent the transmission of the disease to other people.

Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. The parasites invade the body's liver and red blood cells which can cause flu-like symptoms i.e. fever, headache and vomiting, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The compound DDD107498 was tested in human blood and in mice models and it has the capacity to kill the parasite in mice. Additionally, the compound appears to be non-toxic to human cells even at high doses. The findings were published in the journal Nature.

Current drugs available in the market only treat malaria at the blood cell stage, where symptoms come out. However, they does not target parasites that are already in the transmission phase meaning the parasites could be picked up again by mosquitoes and the spread of the disease continues.

Interestingly, the new compound targets all various phases of the life cycle of malarial parasites in the body.

"[It] 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," Ian Gilbert, lead author and professor at Dundee University said, as per the Independent.

"It also has the potential to prevent malaria, as a prophylactic. Some people are quite vulnerable to malaria, such as children and pregnant women, and it has the power to block malaria transmission," Gilbert added.

There have been growing concerns about reported new strains of malaria that are resistant to currently available treatments. These strains are found on the border between Myanmar and India. Should these strains spread to Africa, where the population is at most risk, it could be another potential outbreak.

Dr. Kevin Read, of the Dundee's Drug Discovery Unit, said that drug-resistant malaria is a real threat.

"The compound we have discovered works in a different way to all other anti-malarial medicines on the market or in clinical development, which means that it has great potential to work against current drug-resistant parasites," Dr. Read said, according to the BBC.

The compound is now on safety testing and will be entering clinical trial within the year.