AstraZeneca commits to new malaria drug initiative

AstraZeneca is to ally with an international not-for-profit organisation in a collaboration designed to find new treatments for malaria.

The agreement will see the pharmaceutical company provide the Medicines for Malaria Venture with access to its compound library in order to identify potentially promising drugs.

This process will involve the screening of around 500,000 compounds for treatments which demonstrate effectiveness against the lethal malaria parasite P. falciparum, with the initiative intended to form the basis of new anti-malarial drug discovery projects.

It is hoped that schemes such as this will eventually lead to the creation of a one-dose cure for malaria, a disease which is becoming increasingly dangerous due to the development of drug-resistant strains.

David Brennan, AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer, said: “Our experience with infection research, and indeed with all of our research and development efforts, has taught us that we will only find solutions to today’s global health challenges through collaborative efforts.”

Last week, AstraZeneca announced the commencement of a new clinical trial programme designed to support the safety and efficacy profile of the new depressive disorder treatment TC-5124.