{"id":47466,"date":"2001-08-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2001-08-13T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/08\/13\/unmc-leads-international-team\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T10:51:49","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T15:51:49","slug":"unmc-leads-international-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/08\/13\/unmc-leads-international-team\/","title":{"rendered":"UNMC Leads International Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

UNMC College of Pharmacy Researcher Leads $2.1 Million<\/p>\n

International Study To Develop Promising New Compounds That May Lead to<\/p>\n

New Anti-Malarial Drug<\/p>\n

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of<\/p>\n

Pharmacy have received a two-year, $2.1 million grant to develop a new<\/p>\n

anti-malarial drug they discovered. They are collaborating with researchers<\/p>\n

from the Swiss Tropical Institute and Hoffmann-LaRoche in Switzerland,<\/p>\n

and Monash University in Australia.<\/p>\n

The grant is provided by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a unique,<\/p>\n

worldwide venture to develop new anti-malarial drugs.<\/p>\n

In the 1840s, malaria was a major cause of 600 deaths among Mormons<\/p>\n

living in Omahas Florence area. In 1914, an estimated 600,000 cases of<\/p>\n

malaria occurred in United States. Today, malaria is rare in the U.S. due<\/p>\n

to urbanization, improved sanitation, housing, nutrition and living standards,<\/p>\n

as well as eradication of mosquitoes with chemicals beginning in the 1940s.<\/p>\n

Though now the malaria epidemic seems like a world away, in countries<\/p>\n

like Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the disease kills more than<\/p>\n

1 million people each year, most of them children and pregnant women, according<\/p>\n

to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, an estimated 300 to<\/p>\n

500 million new cases of malaria are diagnosed each year. More than 90<\/p>\n

percent of all malaria cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa, according to<\/p>\n

the WHO.<\/p>\n

Theres a worldwide sense of urgency to develop a new, affordable malaria<\/p>\n

drug. In addition to the epidemic in Africa, the U.S. Centers for Disease<\/p>\n

Control and Prevention says malaria could reemerge in the U.S. due to the<\/p>\n

malaria parasite building up resistance to current drugs, environmental<\/p>\n

changes and increased air travel. American travelers and military personnel<\/p>\n

who travel to countries where malaria is prevalent are at risk.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences<\/p>\n

and principle investigator of the grant, and Yuxiang Dong, Ph.D., post-doctoral<\/p>\n

research associate, are conducting the research at UNMC. They say MMV is<\/p>\n

unique because it brings together the private pharmaceutical industry and<\/p>\n

the public sector expertise in malaria research at institutions such as<\/p>\n

UNMC.<\/p>\n

The team has developed a unique class of compounds that shows effectiveness<\/p>\n

against the parasite that causes malaria in humans. The hope is the compounds<\/p>\n

can be used to develop economical malaria drugs. UNMCs role in the venture<\/p>\n

is to make the compounds, purify them and work with other team members<\/p>\n

who test the safety and potential of the compounds. If successful, the<\/p>\n

next step will be clinical trials to test for effectiveness in humans by<\/p>\n

researchers in Africa and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MMV, an international public and privately funded organization, was<\/p>\n

formed in 1999 to create a unique way for developing new anti-malarial<\/p>\n

drugs that may otherwise not be developed due to cost. Initial co-sponsors<\/p>\n

of venture are the WHO, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical<\/p>\n

Manufacturers Associations, the World Bank, the Government of the Netherlands,<\/p>\n

the UK Department for International Development, the Swiss Agency for Development<\/p>\n

and Cooperation, the Global Forum for Health Research, the Rockefeller<\/p>\n

Foundation and the global Roll Back Malaria Partnership.<\/p>\n

The team has identified several anti-malarial compounds in a new class<\/p>\n

of chemical structures. Its work has been called spectacular by the WHO.<\/p>\n

The team also has applied for a patent on the compound.<\/p>\n

We think we have something quite promising. Within the last two years,<\/p>\n

weve shown our compounds are remarkably effective in animal models, said<\/p>\n

Dr. Vennerstrom, whos been studying malaria for 15 years. He became aware<\/p>\n

of the disease while growing up in Ethiopia while his parents taught at<\/p>\n

mission schools.<\/p>\n

Malaria kills more people than any other infectious disease, with the<\/p>\n

exception of tuberculosis, said Dr. Vennerstrom who from the age of seven<\/p>\n

until he was 16 years old, remembers taking antimalarial drugs to avoid<\/p>\n

getting malaria. He and his parents, who are missionaries, lived for nine<\/p>\n

years in Addis Ababa, the highlands of Ethiopia. Having had experience<\/p>\n

growing up where malaria is a health threat gives you a perspective and<\/p>\n

interest.<\/p>\n

The disease, which takes an enormous toll in lives, medical costs and<\/p>\n

lost labor, is caused by a parasite that is transmitted by the bite of<\/p>\n

an infected Anopheles mosquito. The mosquitoes bite at nighttime, from<\/p>\n

dusk to dawn.<\/p>\n

The way drugs are typically brought to the market is through research<\/p>\n

and development at private pharmaceutical companies. Because a large percentage<\/p>\n

of drug development projects do not succeed, and because malaria drugs<\/p>\n

offer minimal return on investment, drug research and development must<\/p>\n

come in part from the public sector. Thats why MMV was established.<\/p>\n

Dr. Dong, who was recently recruited, brings his chemistry expertise<\/p>\n

to UNMC. He received a doctoral degree from Karlsruhe University in Germany,<\/p>\n

one of the oldest and most revered technical education institutions in<\/p>\n

Germany. Fortunately, my solid training in chemistry is useful in Omaha<\/p>\n

and beyond.<\/p>\n

Its unique to combine his wonderful chemistry expertise to come up<\/p>\n

with potential new drugs to treat malaria, Dr. Vennerstrom said. One<\/p>\n

thing we think about all the time is how the compounds workhow do they<\/p>\n

exert their activity to kill malaria parasite. There are many things to<\/p>\n

consider when designing a drug.<\/p>\nMNJnW XK nbxkBwMElTNjtdLi<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UNMC College of Pharmacy Researcher Leads $2.1 Million International Study To Develop Promising New Compounds That May Lead to New Anti-Malarial Drug Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy have received a two-year, $2.1 million grant to develop a new anti-malarial drug they discovered. They are collaborating with researchers from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nUNMC Leads International Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UNMC College of Pharmacy Researcher Leads $2.1 Million International Study To Develop Promising New Compounds 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