Advances in Anti-Malarial Drug Discovery

Malaria is a major global health problem. The therapeutic options are scarce and challenged by the emergence of resistant parasite strains, which causes a major obstacle to malaria control.
To prevent a potential public health emergency, there is an urgent need for new antimalarial drugs, with single-dose cures, broad therapeutic potential, and novel mechanisms of action. Modern advancement in the biology of the parasite and the availability of the different genomic techniques provide a wide range of novel targets in the development of new therapy. Resistance reported for nearly all available antimalarial agents reinforced the urgent need to develop new antimalarial agents against existing validated targets, as well as to search for novel targets. The development of a novel antimalarial agent that acts toward pre-erythrocytic stages, gametocytes stages, intra-erythrocytic stages, and those of resistant parasite species, is urgently required. Identification of new targets and novel pharmacophores will enrich the antimalarial pipeline.

In the absence of an effective vaccine, the therapeutic use of antimalarial agents remains the only method for the management and prophylaxis of malarial disease. Several studies showed that the efficacies of most antimalarial agents are compromised by the emergency of drug-resistant Plasmodium species.

The goal of this Research Topic is to provide an overall insight into the novel or recent progress in anti-malarial drug discovery - highlighting novel strategies, current challenges, latest discoveries, recent advances, and future perspectives in the field. We would be particularly glad to include new approaches and host-directed therapies. However, conventional approaches to treat malaria infections e.g. agents with novel mode-of-inhibition, which effectively circumvents existing clinical drug resistance, will also be welcome. Publications may refer to any stage of drug development.

This article collection welcomes Original Research articles and Reviews, or Perspectives.

Some of the focus areas are:
- Identification of novel targets
- Multi-stage active antimalarials
- Identification of novel chemical scaffolds
- Drugs with longer retention in the body and Single-dose cures
- Repurposing of existing drugs.

Keywords: Anti-Malarial Drugs, Drug Discovery, Drug Development, Malaria, Drug-Resistance Malaria, Next-Generation Drugs, Multi-stage active drugs, New Pharmacophores, Novel targets

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.