New malaria target identified with potential to prevent, block, and treat multiple stages of the malaria life cycle
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Novartis International AG /
New malaria target identified with potential to prevent, block, and treat
multiple stages of the malaria life cycle
. Processed and transmitted by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
* Findings published in Nature advance a Novartis goal to help eliminate
malaria by identifying a new target that could lead to a treatment for
multiple stages of the disease
* Malaria kills more than 660,000 people each year, mostly African children[1]
Basel, Switzerland, November 28, 2013 - Novartis scientists have discovered a
new drug target for treating malaria. The discovery, which is published online
in the journal Nature,[2] identifies phosphatidylinositol-4 kinase (PfPI4K) as
the target of the imidazopyrazines, a novel experimental antimalarial compound
class that inhibits the development of multiple malaria-causing Plasmodium
species at each stage of infection in the human host.
The on-going research to develop imidazopyrazines as a new treatment for malaria
is supported by the Wellcome Trust and Medicines for Malaria Venture.
Each year malaria kills more than 660,000 people most of whom are African
children. While current therapies are effective against the most common forms of
malaria, recent publications suggest that the efficacy of the artemisinin-
derivatives has been compromised in parts of South-East Asia. In addition, these
therapies are only effective against the acute blood stages of the disease, thus
leaving some patients at risk of relapse after initial treatment. Relapse
prevention is especially important for P. vivax, which can form hypnozoites,
dormant parasites that can persist in the liver for up to two years before
reinitiating a blood-stage infection.
"This new target for malaria provides an avenue to develop the next-generation
antimalarial drugs that are capable of preventing, treating and blocking the
spread of malaria, a key goal of Novartis," commented Thierry Diagana, Head of
the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases. "Compounds that inhibit this new
target have the potential to complement our current malaria drug pipeline,
KAE609 and KAF156, and could provide a path toward elimination of the disease."
The paper describes how scientists discovered a new class of compound with an
imidazopyrazine core, to identify this new malaria target. "Our scientists
carried out a large phenotypic screen which, coupled with modern genome analysis
and editing tools, constitute a powerful technology platform to discover and
validate drug targets for next-generation antimalarial drug discovery," said
Martin Seidel, Institute Director of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis
Research Foundation (GNF).
They then isolated strains of parasites that had become resistant to the
compound class and identified the mutated genes. For one of these genes, PfPI4K,
they went on to show through biochemical experiments that imidazopyrazines work
through interaction with the ATP-binding pocket of the kinase. They also showed
that these compounds are active against blood-stage field isolates of the major
human malaria pathogens, P. falciparum and P. vivax, and inhibit liver-stage
hypnozoites of a parasite P. cynomolgi, which is closely related to P. vivax.
Scientists from GNF and NITD collaborated with an international team of
scientists from the University of California, San Diego, and Columbia
University.
Broader commitment to fighting malaria: Novartis Malaria Initiative
This research is part of a broader commitment by Novartis and complements our
current malaria drug pipeline, KAE609 and KAF156, in the fight against malaria.
The Novartis Malaria Initiative is one of the pharmaceutical industry's largest
access-to-medicines programs, focused on treatment, access, capacity-building
and research & development. Over the last decade, the initiative has delivered
over 600 million treatments without profit to the public sector, in more than
60 countries. Novartis believes that increasing access to medicines in
developing countries is not just a matter of buying medicines and distributing
them, it also requires bringing together good clinical practice, logistics
management and other expertise to ensure a long-term sustainable approach to
improving health. For more information visit www.malaria.novartis.com.
Disclaimer
This press release contains expressed or implied forward-looking statements,
including statements that can be identified by terminology such as "potential,"
"goal," "could," "experimental," "commitment," or similar expressions. Such
forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Group regarding
future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future
results expressed or implied by such statements. These expectations could be
affected by, among other things, risks and factors referred to in the Risk
Factors section of Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in
this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to
update it in the future.
About Novartis
Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving
needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis
offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines,
eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines and
diagnostic tools, over-the-counter and animal health products. Novartis is the
only global company with leading positions in all these areas. In 2012, the
Group achieved net sales of USD 56.7 billion, while R&D throughout the Group
amounted to approximately USD 9.3 billion (USD 9.1 billion excluding impairment
and amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately
133,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries
around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.
Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow (at)Novartis at
http://twitter.com/novartis.
References
[1] World Health Organization,
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/
[2] http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12782. (live when embargo lifts)
# # #
Novartis Media Relations
Central media line : +41 61 324 2200
Anja von Treskow Mariellen Gallagher
Novartis Global Media Relations Novartis Institutes for BioMedical
+41 61 324 8137 (direct) Research
+41 79 367 4723 (mobile) +1 617 871 7665 (direct)
anja.von_treskow(at)novartis.com +1 617 909 9137 (mobile)
mariellen.gallagher(at)novartis.com
e-mail: media.relations(at)novartis.com
For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/Novartis
For questions about the site or required registration, please contact:
journalisthelp(at)thenewsmarket.com
Novartis Investor Relations
Central phone: +41 61 324 7944
Samir Shah +41 61 324 7944 North America:
Pierre-Michel Bringer +41 61 324 1065 Stephen Rubino +1 862 778 8301
Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 8425 Jill Pozarek +1 212 830 2445
Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188 Susanne Donofrio +1 862 778 9257
e-mail: investor.relations(at)novartis.com
Media release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/134323/R/1746248/587824.pdf
This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of
GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Novartis International AG via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1746248]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Bereitgestellt von Benutzer: hugin
" alt="East West Petroleum Announces Ratification of Romanian ConcessionsDatum: 28.11.2013 - 07:15 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 320974
Anzahl Zeichen: 9222
contact information:
Town:
Basel
Kategorie:
Business News
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 218 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"New malaria target identified with potential to prevent, block, and treat multiple stages of the malaria life cycle"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Novartis International AG (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
