Antibody weapon against malaria shows promise in Africa

A new way to prevent malaria that showed promise in 9 U.S. volunteers deliberately exposed to parasite-laden mosquitoes last year has now shown its mettle in a real-world situation in Africa. A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that a single dose of lab-produced monoclonal antibodies can protect recipients from infection for up to 6 months during Mali’s intense malaria season. Monoclonal antibodies are expensive to produce and can be cumbersome to administer if they are infused straight into the bloodstream. That makes some researchers skeptical that the new ones to thwart malaria will be of much use except to protect travelers from high-income, non-endemic countries, who now often take tablets to prevent parasitic infection transmitted by mosquitoes. But the team behind the study is working on an easier way to administer the protective proteins and hopes costs will come down. “Everybody always ends their papers saying: ‘This has tremendous applications, tremendous potential.’ It’s true in this case,” says protein chemist Tim Wells, chief scientific officer at the Medicines for Malaria Venture, which invests in new malaria remedies. “It’s the first time [scientists] have brought a malaria monoclonal to the field. And it was highly successful,” adds Kirsten Lyke, a vaccinologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who conducted laboratory tests of the antibody. The need for n...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news