Carbonucleotides as anti-Malarial agents – CARMA

Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) is responsible for the most lethal form of malaria, which is a major health threat in tropical and subtropical countries. In 2021, the World Health Organization estimated the number of malaria deaths at 619,000 and 247 million cases of malaria worldwide, the latter having increased for the second consecutive year. According to the WHO, malaria is one of the most serious and complex health problems facing humanity in the 21st century. Today, malaria is a developing country affection that has the potential to spread to higher latitudes due to climate change. Thus, malaria could become a public-health problem for developed countries within decades. Despite recent progress in the fight against malaria, these are unfortunately threatened by the resistance of the parasite to the most effective drugs. Thus, the development of new antimalarial treatments involving new compounds and therapeutic targets remains an urgent priority. The project proposes the study and the development of new therapeutic agents targeting the parasite life cycle and belonging to the family of carbonucleoside phosphonate analogues as novel chemotype for Pf inhibition.