Drug researchers discover potent class of molecules that kills malaria parasite
Malaria kills around 400,000 people every year, with the vast majority of deaths occurring in children aged under five from the world’s most vulnerable societies. It is a global health crisis and there is a desperate unmet medical need for new, effective treatments. A world-leading team of antimalarial researchers from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) have discovered a new class of molecules capable of killing Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria in humans through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
Over time, the parasite has developed resistance to the current frontline antimalarials, including artemisinin and chloroquine. To combat this, there is an urgent need for new molecules that act in a different way. Read about the study here.
About Monash University
Monash University is Australia’s largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.
With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.
As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.
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