Early diagnosis and highly effective treatment is a key strategy to control and eliminate the parasite. An inevitable consequence of this is intense drug pressure and the selection of multidrug resistant parasites. Novel antimalarial agents need to be developed that cure the individual and reduce ongoing transmission of the parasite. As part of this endeavour our investigators are working with pharmaceutical companies and public private partnerships to test new drugs against parasites taken directly from people with malaria in endemic countries and volunteers in our human malaria challenge infections in Brisbane. In complementary Phase 3 comparative clinical trials, novel treatment regimens are studied in patients with malaria to determine efficacy and safety. Ongoing studies include exploring novel artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) for all species of malaria, better ways of delivering primaquine radical cure, and presumptive treatment of malaria in pregnant women and infants.
Team members: Kamala Thriemer, Matt Grigg, Jutta Marfurt
