Opportunities and challenges in antiparasitic drug discovery.
New antiparasitic drugs are urgently needed to treat and control diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness and filariasis, which affect millions of people each year. However, because the majority of those infected live in countries in which the prospects of any financial return on investment are too low to support market-driven drug discovery and development, alternative approaches are needed. In this article, challenges and opportunities for antiparasitic drug discovery are considered, highlighting some of the progress that has been made in recent years, partly through scientific advances, but also by more effective partnership between the public and private sectors.
Pink
Richard
R
TDR (the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO/Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases), Geneva 1211, Switzerland.
Hudson
Alan
A
Mouriès
Marie-Annick
MA
Bendig
Mary
M
D000818:Animals; D000977:Antiparasitic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015195:Drug Design; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*
D000977:Antiparasitic Agents