University scientists in malaria drug breakthrough (From York Press)

University of York scientists in malaria drug breakthrough

8:12am Friday 3rd February 2012 in Education news By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

A MAJOR victory in the worldwide fight against malaria has been won by plant scientists at the University of York.

After being awarded a $14million grant in 2006 from Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, a team at the university have developed a hybrid version of the plant Sweet Annie, which is used in the production of anti-malaria drug artemisinin.

The high-yield version of the York-developed plant, which can be used to produce up to 50 per cent more of the drug, looks set to go into full-scale production in China and parts of East Africa later this year.

Professor Ian Graham, head of the university's Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP), said: “The reason we got the grant from the Bill Gates Foundation was to produce a very robust crop that farmers could rely on for high yields and guarantee the supply of artemisinin.

“Up to now that side has been very unreliable.

“If it doesn’t work one year, farmers are not stupid and they are not going to grow it again so you end up with unstable supply and prices.”

Professor Graham said the new plant had recently been grown in successful trials in China, Uganda, Madagascar and Kenya, and that full-scale production could soon begin in China, following a partnership with Thailand-based company East-West Seed.

In the trials, plants have been assessed for abundance of yield, robustness, and resistance to pests and diseases.

Dianna Bowles, one of the co-principal investigators at CNAP, said: “I am delighted that we have successfully partnered with East-West Seed. This provides an excellent opportunity for the new Artemisia varieties developed at York to make a real difference to the fight against malaria.”