Global health R&D at work in Mississippi
The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy is working to make a common malaria drug safer. Primaquine is an inexpensive drug that is highly effective against malaria. However, people with a certain enzyme deficiency can have a life-threatening reaction to the drug. This deficiency is common in regions where malaria is found, so many public health programs are reluctant to use primaquine. If the researchers can understand why this reaction takes place and alter the drug to stop it, it could be used more widely. Malaria infects nearly 250 million people each year, killing more than half a million, most of whom are young children.