Scientists are one step closer to creating a new synthetic and cheaper version of the expensive anti-malaria drug artemisinin, according to research reported Thursday in the journal Nature. While a commercial solution still eludes scientists, the new research offers some hope to the 300 to 500 million people who become infected with disabling malaria every year. More than 1.5 million people, mostly children in Africa and Asia, die every year from the mosquito-borne disease. Scientists cautioned that final commercial development could be five to 10 years down the road. But the researchers have already signed off on a royalty-free license so the drug can be produced inexpensively, when that step is reached. Artemisinin, the most effective known treatment for malaria, is made from extracts of the wormwood plant found in China and Vietnam, Artemisia annua. But supplies of the material are limited and it takes a lot of plant material to extract the drug. The drug, which has proven 100 percent effective, now costs 2.40 dollars a dose, out of reach of most developing countries. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, however, have now engineered production of artemisinic acid that could lead to cheaper prices, the article in Nature said. Two years ago, the team lead by Jay D. Keasling engineered bacteria that can produce the acid. But that breakthrough still required expensive synthesis in the laboratories that would have put the drug cost beyond their ambitious target of 25 cents per dose. --More 00 04 Local Time 21 04 GMT
