EU-funded breakthrough in malaria treatment in the run up to World Malaria Day

Ahead of World Malaria Day (25 April), European Union-funded researchers have discovered that drugs originally designed to inhibit the growth of cancer cells can also kill the parasite that causes malaria, the European Commission reported yesterday. They believe this discovery could open up a new strategy for combating this deadly disease, which, according to World Health Organization statistics, infected around 225 million and killed nearly 800 000 people worldwide in 2009.

Efforts to find a treatment have so far been hampered by the parasite’s ability to quickly develop drug resistance. The research involved four projects funded by the EU (ANTIMAL, BIOMALPAR, MALSIG and EVIMALAR) and was led by laboratories in the UK, France and Switzerland with partners from Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden, along with many developing nations severely affected by malaria.

Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "This discovery could lead to an effective anti-malaria treatment that would save millions of lives and transform countless others. This demonstrates yet again the added value both of EU-funded research and innovation in general and of collaboration with researchers in developing countries in particular. The ultimate goal is the complete eradication of the global scourge of malaria and collaborative work across many borders is the only way of confronting such global challenges effectively."