There are an estimated 200-300 million people infected with malaria annually, with a mortality rate of 1-3%, and 40% of the world’s population at risk of contracting the disease.  While artemisinin and mosquito reduction are the current treatments, there are drug-resistant parasites emerging, underscoring the need for the next generation of antimalarial therapeutics.

Researchers in Drexel’s Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the University of Vermont have synthesized new compounds with the potential for use as a new class of antimalarials.  These compounds are structurally related to chloroquine and ferroquine, which are currently used to treat and prevent malaria.  The cymanquines have structural, chemical, and reactive properties that diverge from existing antimalarials, offering the promise of a new group of therapeutic candidates.  Furthermore, the cymanquines readily cross cell membranes needed for the drug to be metabolized and are less prone to in vivo oxidation-based radical reactions, potentially minimizing side effects in the patient.