NDM units, including the Jenner Institute, the MORU Tropical Health Network, SMRU and the network of Tropical Medicine research centres, are at the forefront of malaria research. Their research includes basic research, diagnostics, drug discovery, clinical trials, bioethics and social sciences.
Malaria has killed many more people than COVID-19 is ever likely to, but it took more than 100 years from the discovery of the parasite for the first vaccine to be registered – a very long delay compared to COVID-19 for which vaccines were registered within the first year of the pandemic. One reason for the delay is the complicated nature of the malaria parasite and the challenges in understanding immunity malaria. It is extremely difficult to develop a vaccine for a parasitic disease that has co-evolved with humans for many thousands of years.
Currently, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is recommended for the treatment of P. falciparum malaria. Fast-acting artemisinin-based compounds are combined with a drug from a different class as a partner drug. However, drug resistance has become a significant challenge. The first evidence of artemisinin resistance was reported in Cambodia in 2008 which spread to all of the Greater Mekong Subregion and then independently emerged in East Africa.
In the past the spread of antimalarial resistance resulted in millions of deaths. Urgent action is needed but malaria is seen as low priority as compared to other diseases. Malaria is often called an epidemic of the poor. Malaria inflicts significant financial burdens on individuals and families, including expenses for treatment, medical care, transportation, lost workdays, and preventive measures. Governments bear substantial costs related to malaria control, such as maintaining healthcare facilities, purchasing medications, implementing public health interventions, and addressing indirect economic impacts like lost productivity.
NDM is leading in various ongoing malaria studies, such as triple artemisinin-based combination therapy, the Star Homes projects, as well as speeding up vaccine development.
Visit our virtual exhibition on Mesh. This exhibition was curated by Shuma Banik, Claire-Lise Kessler and Phaik Yeong Cheah, and funded by Wellcome with help and advice from many colleagues. All illustrations are original and created by Shuma Banik and Matt Cherrill.
Written and illustrated by Shuma Banik, the graphic booklet below illustrates the historic SEAQUAMAT and AQUAMAT trials, two large, randomised, multi-centre collaborative studies led my MORU and funded by Wellcome that clearly demonstrated the superiority of artesunate over quinine in safely and effectively treating severe malaria.