For example, SPf66 was tested extensively in areas where the disease was common in the 1990s, but trials showed it to be insufficiently effective.In 2021, researchers from the University of Oxford reported findings from a Phase IIb trial of a candidate malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, which demonstrated efficacy of 77% over 12-months of follow-up. This vaccine is the first to meet the World Health Organizations Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap goal of a vaccine with at least 75% efficacy. Medications
Malaria parasites contain apicoplasts, organelles related to the plastids found in plants, complete with their own genomes. These apicoplasts are thought to have originated through the endosymbiosis of algae and play a crucial role in various aspects of parasite metabolism, such as fatty acid biosynthesis. Over 400 proteins have been found to be produced by apicoplasts and these are now being investigated as possible targets for novel antimalarial drugs.With the onset of drug-resistant Plasmodium parasites, new strategies are being developed to combat the widespread disease. One such approach lies in the introduction of synthetic pyridoxal-amino acid adducts, which are taken up by the parasite and ultimately interfere with its ability to create several essential B vitamins. Antimalarial drugs using synthetic metal-based complexes are attracting research interest. (+)-SJ733: Part of a wider class of experimental drugs called spiroindolone. It inhibits the ATP4 protein of infected red blood cells that cause the cells to shrink and become rigid like the aging cells. This triggers the immune system to eliminate the infected cells from the system as demonstrated in a mouse model.
The FDA normally requires at least two positive short-term efficacy studies for approval of antidepressants, but this requirement was loosened for esketamine and a relapse-prevention trial was allowed to fill the place of the second efficacy trial instead. This is the first time that the FDA is known to have made such an exception and the decision has been criticized as lowering regulatory standards. In the relapse-prevention trial (SUSTAIN-2), the rate of depression relapse was significantly lower with esketamine continued than with it discontinued and replaced with placebo in esketamine-treated stable responders and remitters (51% rate reduction in remitters and 70% reduction in responders). Esketamine was approved for the treatment of MDD with co-occurring suicidal ideation or behavior on the basis of two short-term (4-week) phase 3 trials (ASPIRE-1 and -2) of esketamine nasal spray added to a conventional antidepressant. The primary efficacy measure was reduction in MADRS total score after 24 hours following the first dose of esketamine. In both trials, MADRS scores were significantly reduced with esketamine relative to placebo at 24 hours. The mean MADRS scores at baseline were 39.4 to 41.3 in all groups and the MADRS reductions at 24 hours were –15.9 and –16.0 with esketamine and –12.0 and –12.2 with placebo, resulting in mean differences between esketamine and placebo of –3.8 and –3.9. The secondary efficacy measure in the trials was change in Clinical Global Impression of Suicidal Severity - Revised (CGI-SS-r) 24 hours after the first dose of esketamine.