Genzyme partnership joins malaria fight

Biotechnology firm Genzyme has confirmed it has formed a new partnership with not-for-profit virtual research group Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMX) and Indian life sciences company Advinus Therapeutics to develop new treatments for “specific patient groups” at risk of malaria.

Under the collaborative agreement, the organisations will work to identify new molecules to fight the disease, which particularly affects pregnant women and young children in many developing nations.

Candidate compounds will be optimised with the assistance of Advinus to target the key enzymes that the malaria parasite relies on for survival, Genzyme said.

A key aim of the research is to develop therapies that can be used from early stage screening to preclinical assessment. The work will also attempt to address the problem of emerging drug resistance that currently affects many anti-malarial treatments.

MMV president and chief executive officer Dr Chris Hentschel said malaria currently kills “between one and two million people” a year, the majority of whom are pregnant women and children under five.

“New anti-malarial agents are urgently needed to stop this unacceptable loss of life, with eradication as our long-term objective,” he said.

According to the World Health Organisation, around 2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of malaria.