Antimalarial Drug Candidates

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2025 | Viewed by 1840

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Instituto Leônidas & Maria Deane, ILMD/FIOCRUZ Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil
Interests: malaria; malaria clinical and epidemiological aspects; antimalarial drugs; vector control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Paulista School of Medicine (UNIFESP/EPM), Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Interests: malaria; antimalarial; resistance; drug development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite extensive efforts to control and eliminate malaria, the disease continues to present a significant public health threat around the world. The emergence of Plasmodium resistance to current antimalarial medications, the absence of effective vaccines, and the limited availability of alternative chemotherapeutic options underscore the urgent need to identify and develop novel antimalarial drug candidates. This pressing issue requires immediate attention and has been a very attractive field for new research whose primary goal is the discovery of antimalarial drug candidates.

This Special Issue aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the development of antimalarial drug candidates for treating malaria in preclinical, translational, and clinical settings. We invite authors to submit original research or review articles that analyze the mechanism of action, efficacy, safety, and/or pharmacokinetics of new antimalarial drug candidates in different transmission settings.

Dr. Djane Baia-da-Silva
Dr. Anna Caroline Campos Aguiar
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • malaria
  • antimalarial drug candidates
  • efficacy
  • safety
  • pharmacokinetics
  • clinical
  • preclinical and translational
  • resistance

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

28 pages, 1825 KiB  
Review
The Importance of Murine Models in Determining In Vivo Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Efficacy in Antimalarial Drug Discovery
by Glory Adebayo, Opeyemi I. Ayanda, Matthias Rottmann, Olusola S. Ajibaye, Gbolahan Oduselu, Julius Mulindwa, Olayinka O. Ajani, Oluwagbemiga Aina, Pascal Mäser and Ezekiel Adebiyi
Pharmaceuticals 2025, 18(3), 424; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18030424 - 18 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1582
Abstract
New chemical entities are constantly being investigated towards antimalarial drug discovery, and they require animal models for toxicity and efficacy testing. Murine models show physiological similarities to humans and are therefore indispensable in the search for novel antimalarial drugs. They provide a preclinical [...] Read more.
New chemical entities are constantly being investigated towards antimalarial drug discovery, and they require animal models for toxicity and efficacy testing. Murine models show physiological similarities to humans and are therefore indispensable in the search for novel antimalarial drugs. They provide a preclinical basis (following in vitro assessments of newly identified lead compounds) for further assessment in the drug development pipeline. Specific mouse strains, non-humanized and humanized, have successfully been infected with rodent Plasmodium species and the human Plasmodium species, respectively. Infected mice provide a platform for the assessment of treatment options being sought. In vivo pharmacokinetic evaluations are necessary when determining the fate of potential antimalarials in addition to the efficacy assessment of these chemical entities. This review describes the role of murine models in the drug development pipeline. It also explains some in vivo pharmacokinetic, safety, and efficacy parameters necessary for making appropriate choices of lead compounds in antimalarial drug discovery. Despite the advantages of murine models in antimalarial drug discovery, certain limitations are also highlighted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimalarial Drug Candidates)
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