NEWS POST: Scientists In South Africa Have Discovered A Compound That Could End Malaria

Anopheles albimanus mosquito feeding on a human arm – this mosquito is a common vector of malaria.

Scientists at the University of Cape Town’s Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D) say they have found a new anti-malaria compound “with potential for both treatment and prevention of malaria.”

The compound, which is set to be developed and is referred to as ‘UCT943’, is the second candidate selected for development after the drug center (H3D) in 2012 selected the MMV048 compound for assessment. But so far, the researchers say the newer compound “may be more potent against the malaria parasite” and could also “be easier to formulate.”

Professor Kelly Chibale, founder and director of H3D, says the new compound “has potent activity against all stages of the malaria parasite life-cycle and has the potential to block transmission of the parasite from person to person.”

In the long-term, following development and further testing as well as validation, Chibale says UCT943 “could contribute to the eradication of malaria.” Chibale estimates pre-clinical assessment of the new compound to take 18 months.

With 90% of malaria deaths in 2015 occurring in Africa, the disease continues to be a bane on the continent. But in line with general progress being made—malaria mortality rates have fallen by 66% among all age groups and by 71% among children under 5 in Africa since 2000, according to the World Malaria Report 2015—H3D’s new compound could speed up the process of eradicating the disease in Africa as has been done in Europe.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has shared its ambition to help eradicate the disease by 2040.

UCT Researchers Identify A Potent Anti-Malarial Candidate

Professor Kelly Chibale, founder and director of UCT’s Drug Discovery and Development Centre.

Researchers from UCT’s Drug Discovery and Development Centre, H3D, have identified a potent new anti-malarial development candidate with potential for both treatment and prevention of malaria.

The compound, referred to as UCT943, is the second preclinical candidate to come out of the collaboration led by H3D, which involves the Switzerland-based Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and an international network of partners.

UCT943 has the same molecular target as MMV048, a promising new compound researched by an international team led by H3D and selected for development in 2012. The data so far shows that UCT943 may be more potent against the malaria parasite, and may be easier to formulate. These aspects will be the subject of the next studies, and will ultimately need to be validated in humans.

“Like MMV048, UCT943 has potent activity against all stages of the malaria parasite life-cycle and has the potential to block transmission of the parasite from person to person and, as such, could contribute to the eradication of malaria, a disease that claims the lives of around half a million people every year,” said Professor Kelly Chibale, founder and director of H3D.

“The pre-clinical assessment of UCT943 is expected to take around 18 months, after which the hope is that it will progress into safety studies in human volunteers,” said Professor Chibale.

“Given the threat of drug-resistant strains of malaria it’s important to have a strong pipeline of new types of molecules,” said Dr Timothy Wells, MMV’s chief scientific officer. “Kelly Chibale and his international team of experts have made huge progress over the last four years. We look forward with great enthusiasm to following the progress of UCT943: it has great potential not just for treating malaria but also providing protection against infection.”

H3D

Naledi Pandor, the minister of science and technology, said, “The Department of Science and Technology is proud to be associated with the research done by Professor Chibale and H3D, and will continue to support their remarkable work. Their research is proving to be a valuable resource for the country and a vital asset in the training of the African scientists who will lead our continent’s research and development in years to come.”

H3D is Africa’s first integrated drug discovery and development centre. When H3D was first launched in 2010, it was a team of five academic postdoctoral research scientists. Now, H3D has grown to a team of over 50, attracting industry-experienced drug discoverers from pharmaceutical companies based in India, the USA and Europe. It is also helping to train a new generation of African scientists, creating strong foundations for the future.

“We are creating an industry that wasn’t in South Africa before, discovering exciting new molecules that are being developed into medicines. This industry we are creating is contributing to the Department of Science and Technology’s bio-economic strategy. It will also increase our ability to create science jobs and use science for the development and benefit of our people. We’ve managed to attract millions of dollars of foreign direct investment and create career opportunities for graduates,” said Professor Chibale.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price said, “Delivering two preclinical candidates within five years is an outstanding record by international standards, especially for a drug discovery centre based at an academic institution. The value of a second candidate signals that the first compound was not a one-off, but part of a sustained and systematic programme.”

Originally published (STORY 1) in Quartz Africa and (STORY 2) in UCT News