New Perspectives on Antimalarial Drug Development and Drug Resistance

Malaria remains the most important parasitic disease worldwide. In the last decades, significant progress has been made in the fight against malaria. However, it seems that this progress is now stalling. The emergency of drug-resistant parasites is becoming the major obstacle in the control and elimination of malaria. It is imperative to delve deeper through extensive research to comprehend the underlying mechanisms and address effective strategies. Innovative approaches for treating malaria cases and preventing malaria-related deaths, and improved tools for monitoring and investigating antimalarial drug resistance are needed.

In this Research Topic, we focus on proof-of-principle and pre-clinical studies of novel antimalarial drug candidates, functional studies of reported drugs, as well as novel reports and findings on antimalarial drug resistance.

We welcome Original Research, Mini Review, and Review articles focusing on, but not limited to, the following themes:
1. Novel antimalarial drugs targeting liver- or blood-stage parasites.
2. Novel transmission blocking drugs.
3. Further elucidation of the mechanism of action of currently available antimalarial drugs or drug candidates.
4. Novel approaches to the investigation of antimalarial drug activity and/or drug resistance.
5. Reports on the emergence and spread of antimalarial drug-resistant parasites.
6. Novel antimalarial drug resistance markers.