By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : May 20, 2024 1:24 pm
The award recognizes powerful science–industry collaborations for social good
A GSK—MMV partnership that has produced a clinical candidate with the potential to rapidly treat drug-resistant uncomplicated malaria has been awarded the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) Innovation Award. Recipients of the award demonstrate collaboration to achieve an innovative outcome.
The candidate, GSK484, is the result of a collaboration that began in 2012 to identify new treatments to address the growing threat of resistance to antimalarial medicines. GSK484 is a novel molecule (non-artemisinin) and a candidate for development in a simplified dosing regimen. This combination of attributes has the potential to fight antimalarial drug resistance.
“I am delighted to see the MMV and GSK project team recognized for this exceptional collaboration,” said Dr. Stephen Brand, Director of Drug Discovery at MMV. “The complementary expertise leveraged by the joint team allowed us to deliver a promising candidate with the potential to combat antimalarial drug resistance, a major global health problem. The synergy between our two organizations allowed us to tackle many hurdles along the way to achieving this milestone.”
“In this fruitful collaboration our teams are working towards providing an innovative solution to combat antimalarial resistance,” said Dr. Laura Sanz, Malaria Portfolio Leader at GSK. “Joint efforts have been guided by our ambition to provide new treatment opportunities for populations most at-risk of the disease. I am honoured that our team has been recognized for this important work.”
The next step in the project’s development is the completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial in human volunteers, initiated in December of 2023.
GSK484 is a part of MMV’s portfolio of potential new medicines to address drug-resistant malaria.