Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REUSE4MALARIA (Drug Repurposing for Malaria Chemoprotection)
Reporting period: 2016-12-01 to 2018-05-31
Our ERC-funded research uncovered a novel mechanism of action that can be targeted for malaria chemoprotection, with fewer side effects and reduced propensity to generate parasite resistance, on which we filed for IP protection. Furthermore, we have identified a set of likely drug candidates already validated in the clinic, which are likely candidates for malaria chemoprotection. In fact, our data indicates the widely used anti-diabetic drug Metformin significantly affects parasite growth. This PoC funding allowed for the exploitation of this concept. Indeed, our data show that prophylactic treatment of mice with Metformin prior to infection with Plasmodium sporozoites leads to a reduction in parasite burden in the liver, thus reducing the parasite load in the blood. Furthermore, combining Metformin treatment in conjunction with another antimalarial leads to a synergistic reduced liver burden and subsequent attenuation of virulence.