Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets - Infectious Disorders) - Volume 13, Issue 4, 2013

The isolation of artemisinin from the traditional medicinal herb qīng hāo (Artemisia annua), its characterization as a peroxide and preparation of the derivatives dihydroartemisinin, artemether and artesunate in the 1970s and 1980s by Chinese scientists under the umbrella of Project 523 collectively represents one of the great events in medicine in the latter third of the 20th Century. Artemisinins have become the most im Read More

Although malaria remains one of the most important infectious causes of morbidity and mortality world-wide with 40% of the global population at risk, significant progress has been made toward elimination, notably with the development and use of rapid diagnostic tests, insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying, and artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). P. falciparum infection remains the most common c Read More

A steady increase in the number of antimalarial drug candidates since 2007 follows a call to eradicate malaria from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others. Four new fixed dose combination medicines have been approved by stringent authorities or the WHO in as many years. OZ439, a synthetic endoperoxide currently in Phase II, could reduce treatment to a single dose. Significan Read More

Malaria causes a quarter of all childhood deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa. Considerable gains in global malaria control have been achieved in the last decade but coverage of effective interventions remains low in areas of greatest malaria burden. Some countries have achieved reduced malaria related mortality through application of recent advances in malaria prevention and treatment of children. Artemisinin combination thera Read More