Thailand discovers new anti-malarial drug

BANGKOK, April 21 (TNA) - Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) has discovered a new anti-malarial medication and it is about to conduct pre-clinical tests before manufacturing. NSTDA President Thaweesak Koanantakool and a relevant research team, led by Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong, told a press conference of the discovery of the P218 chemical, developed by Thai researchers, on Monday. Thaweesak explained that the newly-developed drug targets the malarial enzyme and stops the DNA of the deadly disease from replicating and the drug can, thus, kill Malaria completely. Besides, the new medication can kill the present drug-resistant disease and it is not expensive, but the newly-introduced drug must be tested and prove to meet the good laboratory practice (GLP) standard before its public introduction. According to the NSTDA president, his agency will sign a cooperation agreement on May 1, 2014 with the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a world-class organization, for the development of anti-malaria drugs. Under the agreement, both organizations will also push for the pre-clinical tests of P218, taking about 18 months, so that it will meet the GLP standard. Afterwards, the NSTDA president acknowledged, the drug will be tested with volunteers, the whole process before manufacturing of which should take about five years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Malaria is one of three major infectious diseases, with more than 200 million people worldwide infected with it annually and over 600,000 of them killed. In Thailand, there are more than 20,000 patients and drug-resistant malaria has been reported along the Thai-Cambodian border, the situation of which has prompted all concerned parties to quickly develop effective cures. (TNA)