Genetic discovery by British scientists raises hopes for malaria treatments

Genetic discovery by British scientists raises hopes for malaria treatments - Times Online

The genetic code of the plant that provides the most effective treatment for malaria has been cracked by scientists, raising the prospect of cheaper and more plentiful drugs against a disease that kills about a million people each year.

The achievement by British researchers will assist the development of higher-yielding varieties of the sweet wormwood plant Artemisia annua that addresses a global shortage of the drug artemisinin and reduces its cost. New seeds could be produced using insights from the study and be available to farmers in as little as two to three years.

Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), in which the drug is given in combination with older anti-malarial treatments, are recommended by the World Health Organisation as the best way to fight malaria.

Artemisinin can be made only by using an acid extracted from sweet wormwood, a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine. As most of the varieties under cultivation are wild plants with low yields, demand for ACTs outstrips supply and the drugs are much more expensive than older, less-effective treatments.