A single, oral dose cure for malaria? This previously unattainable goal is one step closer as new synthetic drugs have been shown to cure malaria in animals in an international research project involving scientists at the Victorian College of Pharmacy at Monash University.

Malaria is a tropical disease caused by a mosquito-borne parasite. Each year, malaria kills up to three million people and more than 500 million people suffer its debilitating effects. The disease is a critical problem in Africa, Asia and South America with a large proportion of deaths occurring in children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.

Associate Professor Susan Charman, director of the Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation (CDCO) at Monash, said the new, second-generation synthetic peroxide drugs being developed by the project team would be affordable and more effective than currently available treatments, which require a three-day treatment course.

"The malaria parasite has become resistant to many antimalarial drugs, whereas the new fully synthetic, peroxide antimalarials can kill the drug-resistant parasites with a single dose," Associate Professor Charman said.

"It is still early days and the chosen candidate drug has to be shown to be safe and effective in humans. Our hope is that one day, this simple, effective, and affordable treatment can aid in the fight against this dreadful disease."

The international project team was established in the late 1990s and financed by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a not-for-profit organisation funded by the World Health Organisation and philanthropic trusts such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Initial highlights from the first generation project were published in 2004 in Nature, attracting worldwide attention. The lead candidate from the first generation program has completed Phase 1 clinical trials and is currently being evaluated in Phase 2 trials in malaria patients. The second generation project has identified new compounds with improved properties and is on target to select a development candidate by the end of 2007, with studies in humans planned for 2009.

Monash CDCO scientists, along with chemists and biologists from the USA and Europe, were recently recognised at the recent MMV Stakeholders Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, with an award for the MMV International Drug Discovery Project of the Year in 2006 which was presented by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

"This award is a tremendous honour that not only recognises the significant dedication and achievements of numerous scientists at Monash and others around the world but also highlights the potential for international collaborations to actively and effectively progress drug discovery research in malaria and other neglected diseases," Associate Professor Charman said.