| Apr 11th, 2013 | |
Launch of semi-synthetic artemisinin a milestone for malaria, synthetic biology |
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| (Nanowerk News) Twelve years after a breakthrough discovery in his University of California, Berkeley, laboratory, professor of chemical engineering Jay Keasling is seeing his dream come true. | |
| On April 11, the pharmaceutical company Sanofi will launch the large-scale production of a partially synthetic version of artemisinin, a chemical critical to making today’s front-line antimalaria drug, based on Keasling’s discovery.read more at nanowerk
http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/biotech/newsid=29955.php The “semi-synthetic” artemisinin is chemically modified to an active drug, such as artesunate, and combined in ACT with another antimalarial drug to lessen the chance that the malaria parasite will develop resistance to artemisinin. Sanofi plans to produce 35 tons of artemisinin in 2013 and, on average, 50 to 60 tons a year by 2014, which will translate to between 80 and 150 million ACT treatments. Sweet wormwood was used in ancient Chinese therapy to treat various illnesses, including fevers typical of malaria. In the 1970s, Chinese scientists rediscovered it and identified its active ingredient, artemisinin, and artemisinin is now extracted from sweet wormwood grown commercially in China, Southeast Asia and Africa. The quality, supply and cost have been unpredictable and inconsistent, however. Keasling’s goal was to create a synthetic version with a stable and ideally lower price that could be produced in sufficient quantity to treat the 300-500 million cases of malaria that arise each year. Sanofi and OneWorld Health, the not-for-profit drug development affiliate of the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), have launched a commercial-scale production line for semisynthetic artemisinin, a move they say is “a pivotal milestone in the fight against malaria”. Global demand for artemisinin is the most effective malaria treatment available but the existing botanical supply – which is derived from the sweet wormwood plant – is inconsistent. Therefore, Sanofi says that having “multiple sources of high-quality artemisinin will strengthen the artemisinin supply chain, contribute to a more stable price and ultimately ensure greater availability of treatment”. The company notes that the production line at its facility in Garessio, Italy, will be able to produce enough artemisinin, using technology developed by US firm Amyris, for around 80-150 million artemisinin-based combination therapies by 2014. |
DRUG APPROVALS BY DR ANTHONY MELVIN CRASTO
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That’s indeed a great milestone to share, this discovery will be of immense use
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