Novel compound sparks new malaria treatment hope: parasites treated with antimalarial compound WM382

A novel class of antimalarial compounds that can effectively kill malaria parasites has been developed by Australian and US researchers. The research was a collaboration between the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and global pharmaceutical company MSD.

In this video, the sample has been treated with the novel antimalarial compound. The compound prevents the parasites from escaping their red blood cell hosts –a process called egress – and the infection cannot progress, killing the parasites.

The novel antimalarial compounds block parasites from escaping red blood cells, the so-called 'blood stage' of infection. In preclinical testing, the compounds were effective against different species of malaria parasites, including the deadly Plasmodium falciparum, and at multiple stages of the parasite lifecycle. The compounds target a previously unexplored parasite pathway and could overcome existing issues of parasite drug resistance, an ongoing and increasingly urgent problem.

Read more: wehi.edu.au/news/novel-compound-sparks-new-malaria-treatment-hope

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