Malaria is a lethal parasitic infectious disease caused by Plasmodium protozoa. Despite significant advancements in antimalarial drug discovery, it continues to pose a major global health challenge with recent reports indicating approximately 263 million cases and 59,700 deaths in 83 endemic countries. It is caused by four species of the Plasmodium: Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium vivax, and Plasmodium falciparum, with Plasmodium falciparum being the most virulent and responsible for the majority of cases. In Sub-Saharan and other African regions, children under the age of 5 and pregnant women account for the large proportions of deaths. This disease is not only confined to endemic regions, as increased global migration has increased the chances of imported infections in non-endemic nations as well. The key concerns that threaten the long-term objectives associated with the eradication of the disease are misdiagnosis (due to the similarity of clinical symptoms to other diseases such as COVID-19), lack of effective vaccines, and drug resistance to the available antimalarials.

Malaria can be cured by decreasing the spread of infection or by the development of novel antimalarial drugs. Several antimalarial drugs like chloroquine and artemisinin-based combination therapies have ruled the antimalarial drug market for decades. But the onset of drug resistance to available marketed drugs has threatened the progress made so far. So, the antimalarial drug realm is in strong need of novel agents that can overcome the problem of drug resistance, simplify treatment regimens, and reduce incidences of relapse and transmission.

This Research Topic welcomes research and review articles aimed at exploring the current advancements in the understanding and management of malaria. We encourage contributions with an emphasis on the development of novel therapeutic modalities involved in the treatment of disease, from the development of vaccines to novel antimalarial agents, the molecular basis of drug resistance, drug target identification, as well as interdisciplinary approaches integrating cutting-edge technologies.

We invite submissions that address, but are not confined to, the following topics:

• Rational drug design and synthetic methodologies for diverse topics including, but not limited to, natural product analogs, small molecules, heterocycles, and hybrid molecules.

• Agents targeting drug resistance such as reversal agents, chemosensitizers, or dual-functional antimalarials.

• Structure-activity relationship studies (SAR).

• Mechanism of action studies.

• Advances in malaria vaccine research and development and immunotherapeutic strategies.

• Innovative nanotechnology, drug delivery systems, and formulation technologies.

• Computational approaches and use of AI to predict drug target interactions, resistance mutations, and design.

• High-throughput screening of novel libraries for chemical hits.

• Pharmacokinetic profiles, including in vitro and in vivo evaluation of efficacy, toxicity, and ADMET parameters.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Antimalarial Drugs and Vaccines: Discovery, Developments and Innovations