MMV hails next-gen OZ as next hope against malaria

At its stakeholders' meeting in Kampala, Uganda, the Medicines for Malaria Venture presented the MMV Project of the Year Award 2006 to the product development team of one of its discovery projects researching a new generation of synthetic peroxide.

According to the MMV, this class of compounds holds the exciting potential to offer a breakthrough in the treatment of malaria. This is the second MMV Project of the Year award given to this class of compounds the first was awarded in 2002 for the first-generation synthetic peroxide program.

Today, artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) are the most effective treatment for uncomplicated malaria. Uptake in endemic countries has been on the rise and more people have access to this life-saving medicine. In the combination, the artemisinin component provides fast-acting, highly-effective parasite clearance, with its longer-acting partner drug killing any remaining parasites and providing some protection beyond one month post-treatment. However, the world cannot rely solely on ACTs as the only class of drugs to treat malaria, noted the MMV, adding that the potential for the emergence of drug resistance is real.