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The RTS,S/AS01e (RTS,S) malaria vaccine of GSK received WHO recommendation

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) company’s RTS, S malaria vaccine for children who are prone to developing this disease, especially those living in sub-Sahara, African countries. It is in these countries that malaria has moderate to high high rate of transmission among children. The RTS, S is the first clinically proven vaccine that has significantly reduced the incidence of malaria in children. It took more than 30 years of intense research to develop this vaccine. The team of researchers worked at GSK and PATH companies.

GSK is working with PATH and other leading NGOs in Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana, regions with moderate to high rate of malaria transmission. In these African countries, the company is developing programs to provide easy access to RTS,S vaccine on a long term basis. For the pilot project, GSK would be donating as much as 10 million RTS,S doses and has planned to provide upto 15 million doses each year, following its widespread recommendation among the masses. Moreover, GSK is going to do technology transfer to Bharat Biotech company in India. This company would also be producing antigens on a long-term basis.

The recommendation by WHO is now considered an important milestone in the success of the vaccine RTS,S. In the August issue of New England Journal of Medicine, a key finding about the vaccine was published. The finding was based on a study conducted on 6,000 children in London, UK. The study was conducted by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In this study, the control group received seasonal doses of antimalarial drugs under the Season Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) program. The experimental group received SMC and RTS,S vaccine. The study was carried out for three years. The incidence of malaria and hospitalization due to malaria were reduced by as much as 70% in the experimental group.

The pilot program of Malaria vaccine was launched in the year 2019. In the three African countries of Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana, the antimalarial vaccination program was introduced successfully. These countries have moderate to high rates of transmission of malaria. More than 800,00 children were vaccinated with at least one dose. Presently, GSK team of researchers have dispersed more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine. They have even emphasized on delivering the vaccine through the conventional immunization program for children.

 

 

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Possible Cure for Drug-resistant malaria: toothpaste ingredient

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have an innovative cure for drug-resistant malaria. This ingredient is commonly found in toothpastes.

A mosquito is the key carrier of malarial pathogens. Whenever such a mosquito bites a human being, these parasites are transferred into bloodstream of humans. Such parasites move through the liver for colonization and proliferation.

After proliferation and colonization in the liver, they attack red blood cells and multiply continuously. This further leads to potentially threatening illnesses.

In Africa and south-east Asia, more than a million people are affected by malaria. Although numerous medicines are commercially available in the market, it has been found that malarial parasites are mutating in recent times.

According to a recent study in the journal “Scientific Reports,” a team of researchers discovered that triclosan is the active ingredient that can fight “drug-resistant bacteria.” Triclosan obstructs the development of plaque bacteria with the help of the enzyme enoyl reductase (ENR). This enzyme was used for producing fatty acids.

To investigate therapeutic efficiency of triclosan, scientists attacked the culture of pathogens. They found that triclosan could target ENR, which is a virulent strain of pathogenic bacteria in the liver.

Triclosan suppresses the growth of parasites by completely inhibiting an enzyme, named DHFR. An anti-malarial drug named pyrimethamine targets DHFR; however, this target is also resisted by malarial parasites in Africa. Interestingly, triclosan could target even these parasites resistant to pyrimethamine.

In Africa and south-east Asia, a growing concern is the proliferation of drug-resistant malaria. The expression of ENR and DHFR was inhibited by triclosan. Triclosan is found to be effective on the parasite both in the liver and bloodstream. Thus, there is hope of a new drug against drug-resistant parasites.

This experimental research study was conducted in conjunction with robot scientist “Eve” in order to accelerate drug discovery process. With the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, an innovative approach can be established for inventing new drugs.