Malaria's watershed in Nature

From Paul Chinook at Tropika.net:

According to Nature, ‘Malaria's moment has come, but success in control, let alone eradication, demands a renewed commitment to basic research.' The editorial says that much of GMAP ‘makes good sense' but it is concerned that the right balance may not be struck between basic and applied research. It points out that basic research is required ‘...to stay ahead of drug resistance in the parasite and insecticide resistance in mosquitoes, and to get a better understanding of natural infection in humans.' The article continues, ‘The malaria drug and vaccine pipelines are healthier now than they have been for decades, but they are in urgent need of new candidates and approaches.'

The Nature Editors make the claim that, so far, the largest donor in malaria research - the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - has devoted most of its funding to clinical and translational research. They welcome the Foundation's recent announcement that it plans to spend US$168 million to develop next-generation malaria vaccines, in an initiative that will include early-stage laboratory research. The article also calls for better coordination between agencies funding malaria research.

The Editors of Nature are to be congratulated for contributing to the debate on GMAP, but their ideas as to where the balance lies between basic and applied research will not be shared by everyone in the malaria research community. It is to be hoped that publication of the editorial may prompt comment (on TropIKA.net and elsewhere) from those who see things in a different light.

If GMAP is going to advance progress towards better malaria control (and ultimately towards eradication) there are a great many issues, other than those discussed in this editorial, that must be addressed. They include weaknesses in delivery strategies and of health services generally in malaria-endemic countries. Until progress is made in this area, the fruits of basic science research will not reach those who need them. Building capacity for research within endemic countries themselves must also be on the agenda.

Note: Research articles in the same issue of Nature describe two malaria genome sequences. Firstly, the genome of P. vivax, which contributes significantly to malaria incidence (but is nevertheless often neglected), is presented together with a comparative analysis of the genomes of other Plasmodium species. Secondly, the journal publishes the genome sequence of Plasmodium knowlesi which is increasingly becoming recognized as the fifth human-infecting Plasmodium species.

https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v455/n7214/full/455707a.html