Medicines for Malaria Venture

For countries trying to achieve malaria-free status, the last mile in this journey is often the toughest. Having seen #malaria cases fall from 48,000 in 2003 to roughly 6,000 last year, the Philippines is currently facing the last-mile challenge. The finish line is on the island of Palawan, where indigenous communities in remote mountain areas bear most of the malaria burden.    Health workers in the area are actively collaborating with these indigenous communities to make elimination efforts work for them, and are confident that it’s only a matter of time before the Philippines will cross the malaria-free finish line. The Telegraph’s Sarah Newey recently joined these health workers on a trip to the indigenous villages of Palawan to understand the challenges faced and strategies being deployed to overcome the last mile and cross the malaria-free finish line. Read the article: bit.ly/3Z7fzeE  

Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin have developed a ‘Trojan horse’ method to treat #malaria that tricks parasites into ingesting a fatal dose of malaria medicines.    This novel approach to drug delivery can help counter antimalarial drug resistance, inform the development of new medicines and ultimately reduce the burden of malaria and other parasitic diseases.    Read the peer reviewed study here: bit.ly/4dGGfY5 

Just as data is key to #malaria control and elimination efforts, educating at-risk populations about malaria prevention also positively contributes to these efforts. A recent study conducted in Uganda set out to gauge the impact of mass media campaigns on the knowledge of malaria prevention measures among pregnant mothers.    The study found that pregnant women exposed to malaria prevention messaging had more awareness and knowledge about the proper use of insecticide-treated bed nets than those who had no exposure to this messaging. This finding underscores the critical role of delivering information about malaria prevention to intended audiences, and the need to employ diverse prevention strategies to save more lives: bit.ly/3MLHrh3 

Evidence generated from studies conducted by scientists in Canada suggests that circadian rhythms appear to influence vulnerability to #malaria parasites. The study explored how the circadian rhythms of both the host and the malaria parasite interact to affect the severity of the disease and the host’s ability to fight off the parasite.    In preclinical studies, researchers discovered that infections occurring in the middle of the night had less severe symptoms than those occurring during the day, and the spread of the parasites within the hosts was more limited. Ultimately, this discovery could support the development of more effective treatments for malaria and other parasitic diseases.    Learn more: bit.ly/4cKOJw2 

The Asia-Pacific region is progressing towards #malaria elimination, but there are significant roadblocks to overcome, which are summarized in a new article published in the Medical Journal of Australia. To further accelerate this progress, the authors point to a need for new fit-for-purpose tools and strategies aligned with existing local healthcare, national planning and procurement systems.    One such fit-for-purpose tool is the new single-dose radical cure for relapsing Plasmodium vivax malaria, which was recently launched in Thailand – the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so. This decision came after a feasibility study sponsored by the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand and supported by MMV and PATH on the routine use of the medicine after point-of-care G6PD testing within the country’s health system.    Read more: bit.ly/4dWYnMZ 

Since the turn of the century, insecticide-treated nets have been among the most effective methods of preventing #malaria-transmitting mosquito bites, and serve as a powerful tool that can be used in combination with preventive medicines and vaccines to protect more people from the disease. However, mosquitoes are crafty and adaptable creatures, and have developed resistance to certain insecticides over the years.    To stay one step ahead of the world’s deadliest animal, scientists thought to develop dual-insecticide nets, a challenge that Dr Corine Ngufor spent over six years trying to solve at her Benin-based lab. This tireless work ultimately led to a new #innovation – a net treated with both pyrethroid and chlorfenapyr. These nets are now being used to great effect, and last year, the World Health Organization made a strong recommendation in favour of pyrethroid-chlorfenapyr nets.    Read about Dr Ngufor’s breakthrough research and the importance of combining multiple #innovations to make malaria elimination achievable: bit.ly/4dIpEmM 

The fight to control and eliminate #malaria is also turning into a race against antimicrobial resistance.    Partial resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the backbone of all first-line treatments of uncomplicated malaria, has already emerged in parts of Africa, and may soon threaten the efficacy of ACTs across the continent. To avoid this, countries need to engage in regional and cross-border initiatives, share data and best practices, and ultimately co-design sustainable strategies to counter artemisinin partial resistance.    To help preserve the efficacy of current ACTs, MMV and partners advocate for the use of multiple first-line therapies (MFT), which use two or more first-line ACTs simultaneously to make it harder for parasites to evolve resistance. MMV is participating in a 13-country initiative to deploy MFT at scale, and has supported MFT pilot implementation studies in Kenya and Burkina Faso. We are also currently co-developing combination medicines that work against existing resistant parasite strains, as well as medicines with less frequent dosing regimens to improve compliance and reduce the likelihood of resistance developing due to failure to complete the course of treatment.    A new article published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases describes how resistant malaria parasites are gaining momentum in Africa and the growing need for prompt action: bit.ly/4cFzrZe 

No single control method can eliminate malaria, which is why exploring and investing in new #innovations is key to achieving the malaria elimination agenda. To this end, scientists are now investigating how mosquitoes use gut bacteria to fight the #malaria they transmit, and how this might be leveraged to give humans the upper hand against malaria parasites.    Learn more: bit.ly/3AP8c11 

With support from MMV and Unitaid, Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited (Swipha) has become the first Nigerian manufacturer of quality-approved sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, used for preventing #malaria in those most at-risk – children and pregnant women.      This important milestone is part of a broader effort to strengthen regional manufacturing capacity and expand the availability of quality-assured medications to combat malaria across Africa, where most malaria deaths occur. For MMV, this builds on a successful track record of helping pharmaceutical partners in Asia, North America and Europe achieve regulatory approval or WHO Prequalification for their antimalarial products, and facilitating access to these life-saving medicines for those who need them most. World Health Organization, Africa CDC, African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), PATH

Migrants and displaced people face unique barriers accessing routine #malaria diagnostics, prevention and treatment, which can lead to unchecked malaria transmission in areas with high population displacement.     A recent cross-sectional study conducted in three districts near the Thailand/Myanmar border found that a significant proportion of Myanmar migrants encounter demographic and socioeconomic barriers accessing routine malaria services in Thailand. To help overcome these barriers and expand access to malaria services, the authors call for tailored interventions, including the recruitment of health volunteers, strengthening the role of ethnic health organizations in the observed border area and collaborating with private sector stakeholders to distribute preventive tools and ensure timely referral to health facilities.    Read the study in Springer Nature Group’s Malaria Journal: bit.ly/3AmWeM1