BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Therapeutics: An undetermined target

October 22, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

Mouse and cell studies identified an artemisinin analog that could help treat malaria. Chemical synthesis and in vitro testing of nitric oxide (NO)-donating dihydroartemisinin analogs identified a compound that inhibited growth of Plasmodium berghei in mouse red blood cells with an IC50 of 16 nM. In P. berghei-infected mice, the compound decreased parasitic growth with efficacy comparable to artemether. In a mouse model of cerebral malaria, the compound increased survival compared with artemether. Next steps could include testing the compound in additional models of malaria...