The need for funding for antimalarial drugs is particularly acute, said Wirth, as every major pharmaceutical company has shut down its antimalarial drug research programs one by one over the past 15 years to focus on blockbuster drugs. The grant will allow the Harvard Malaria Initiative to earnestly launch an antimalarial drug effort based on new knowledge of the parasite and the human genomes, said Wirth. We can begin to look for new targets for drug and, perhaps, vaccine development. The grant will also help establish a training program for students and scientists from developing countries to encourage them to discover drugs and treatments for their home countries. The research will start in Senegal, where the Initiative has ongoing collaborations, and will expand to include Nigeria and Cameroon.
Malaria is a devastating disease.
Biting mosquitoes pass along the parasites that cause malaria. Once inside a human, the parasites burrow into the liver, where they reproduce. The increasing army of bugs eventually leaves the liver to take up residence in red blood cells, where they continue to reproduce until the burgeoning red blood cells explode and release the parasites and their related toxins into the bloodstream. People ill with malaria usually feel as if they have the flu, with fevers, vomiting and body aches. If left untreated, malaria can cause seizures, coma, and death.