Possible pill cure for malaria found at Portland State

Graphic by Ayla Buckner.

Portland State University researchers have found a new possible cure for malaria, within a single pill.

There are more than 200 million cases of malaria a year in the world, and almost half a million people die in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia from the blood-borne disease. Malaria is carried by Plasmodium parasites and are spread through bites of infected mosquitoes. Two PSU chemistry professors, Kevin Reynolds and Jane Kelly, and Papireddy Kencharla, a senior research associate, investigated what the pill might do to change the future of the disease. A soil bacteria is what their new compound is based on, and it cures malaria in a single oral dose in animal models (mice). It also has worked against drug-resistant strains of the disease.

The breakthrough came after Reynolds found a paper from the 1970s that mentioned the antimalarial activity of the bacteria pigments. The single pill they envision for humans wouldn’t need to be refrigerated or administered through an injection or needle. The team has applied for a patent and a new federal grant – and say it could be another five years before a human pill is ready for distribution.

Malaria’s effect on the planet could be decreased, through this promising new cure. The orally ingested cure has the potential to change lives all over the world.

Advocate Staff