20 | Using knowledge
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PRIMING THE PIPELINE STRONGER bONdS
A promising antimalarial is on course A simple intervention can strengthen
to enter the Medicines for Malaria bonds between parent and child even
Venture drug development pipeline. in an impoverished setting.
With resistance to artemisinin-based The quality of the relationship between
drugs a growing concern (see page The NITD concentrates on early stages infant and caregiver (usually a mother) in
18), there remains a need to pursue of drug discovery, identifying and the early years of life can have a long-term
new pharmacological leads in the chemically refining potential new agents, impact. If a secure attachment develops,
battle against malaria. With Technology and carrying out preclinical studies to infants are more likely to forge good
Transfer funding, the Novartis Institute test for efficacy and toxicity in animal relationships with their peers and develop
for Tropical Diseases in Singapore models. as socially and emotionally well-adjusted
is testing a range of possible new children, and are less likely to develop
compounds, with a view to passing on Its most promising antimalarial mental health problems as they grow
the most promising to the Medicines for compound emerged from a screen older. A clinical trial involving researchers
Malaria Venture (MMV) – a public–private of a large library of natural products in Reading, Oxford and South Africa has
partnership based in Switzerland that held by the Novartis parent company. now shown that a simple intervention
has also received funding from the The compound was lethal to cultured delivered by local people without medical
Wellcome Trust. Encouragingly, the first parasites, and in vivo tests after chemical training can significantly enhance the
compound is due to make the transition optimisation have confirmed its potency. mother–infant relationship.
1
to the MMV pipeline. Three doses rapidly and completely
eliminated malaria parasites in infected The trial was carried out in Khayelitsha, a
The Novartis Institute for Tropical mice – far exceeding the ‘gold standard’ sprawling township of more than a million
Diseases (NITD), a public–private for efficacy at this stage of development. inhabitants on the outskirts of Cape Town.
partnership between Novartis and the In a pilot study, mother–child attachment
Singapore Economic Development The next step is to file for ‘investigational had been improved when new mothers
Board, was set up in 2002. Its aim is to new drug’ status late in 2010, which received professional support and
develop small-molecule therapeutics would enable the compound to be guidance on parenting. In the latest work,
for infectious diseases of low-income registered for clinical trials. MMV and a randomised controlled trial tested
countries, principally dengue, NITD will jointly manage the clinical whether a similar intervention delivered by
tuberculosis and malaria. It works on development, and phase I clinical trials lay community workers, intended to
compounds originating within Novartis could start in the first half of 2011. promote sensitive parenting and foster
as well as others identified in academic secure infant attachment to mothers, had
research. a similar beneficial effect.
IMAGES
1 The chemical structure of the spiroindolone, NITD609,
a preclinical candidate for malaria.
2 A simple intervention can improve mother–child
bonding even in impoverished settings.
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