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From Molecule to Drug

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Molecular Parasitology

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Abstract

Drug development for protozoan parasites has gained a renewed impetus at the turn of the century with the foundation of product development partnerships such as the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) or Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). These organizations have established the required target-product profiles for new drugs and have set up research and development consortia involving partners from the academic, the pharmaceutical and the governmental sector. This has successfully replenished the drug development pipelines for malaria, human African trypanosomiasis and other parasitic diseases. In spite of recent breakthroughs in drug target identification and validation, most of the new drug candidates have been found through cell-based screens. Several new chemical entities against Plasmodium falciparum or Trypanosoma brucei are being tested in the clinical phase of development. However, a large need for new leads persists for Leishmania spp. and Trypanosoma cruzi. Here we give an overview on antiparasitic drug targets and illustrate the research and development pipeline with recent success stories for malaria and human African trypanosomiasis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4051, Basel, Switzerland

    Pascal Mäser & Reto Brun

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  1. Pascal Mäser
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  2. Reto Brun
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Correspondence to Reto Brun .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Julia Walochnik

  2. Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna , Vienna, Austria

    Michael Duchêne

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Mäser, P., Brun, R. (2016). From Molecule to Drug. In: Walochnik, J., Duchêne, M. (eds) Molecular Parasitology. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1416-2_15

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