U.S. patents granted to Virginia Tech for targets and methods to develop new drugs for malaria

Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties (VTIP) announces that the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted a patent for targets and methods to develop new drugs for malaria.

For decades, scientists have been searching for a way to target malaria-causing parasites that have infected the human body. Researchers from the Virginia Biotechnology Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech discovered and characterized a protein the parasites make, called Heme Detoxification Protein (HDP), which is a key to doing just that. Dharmendar Rathore, formerly an assistant professor at VBI, led the effort, working closely with Dewal Jani, a molecular and protein biologist, and Rana Nagarkatti, protein biochemist and molecular biologist, to identify and isolate the protein that is so vital for the parasite's survival.

Every year 350-500 million people are infected and more than one million people die from malaria. "New drugs developed with this discovery will have a huge impact," said Otto Folkerts, associate director of technology development at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute. "It's an entirely new mechanism of action and can help with the increasing problem of drug resistance, for example, as part of a cocktail therapy with other existing drugs."

Once infected mosquitoes bite and transmit the parasite to the human body, the parasite replicates exponentially and infects the red blood cells, which are composed of approximately 90 percent hemoglobin. The parasite feeds on the globin component of the hemoglobin, and because the leftover free heme component is toxic, the parasite uses a protein to detoxify the heme and convert it into a new form called hemozoin. That protein is HDP.

"We've discovered the piece to the puzzle that was missing," said Rathore.

Prior to the discovery of HDP, scientists created drugs to target the free heme byproduct and prevent it from becoming hemozoin, thus keeping the molecule in its toxic form in order to kill the parasite. However, the anti-malaria drugs currently on the market tend to have adverse side effects and are progressively becoming ineffective due to increasing drug resistance.

Rathore explained that drugs used for malaria therapy today target a host (human) metabolic process, which involves the heme byproduct that is natural to the human body. The ideal target for an anti-infective drug is a pathogen protein, so that human metabolism is not disrupted.

"With HDP, you will be targeting a parasite-specific factor, which is absolutely unique, and that's a big plus in the field of drug discovery," he said. "If you can identify the target, that's a big achievement", which is why Dr. Rathore's work is foundational for this new therapeutic approach.

VTIP is seeking a pharmaceutical company to continue the drug development work that is needed in order to take Rathore's discovery to the next stage, and to test the effectiveness of drugs that are identified in the laboratory using the patented assays. The cost of any treatment for malaria will need to be very low or else it won't be affordable in the parts of the world where malaria is widespread and devastating. However, a licensee is still likely to want exclusive rights to develop the technology into a treatment, so securing a patent is an important first step. Large pharmaceutical companies have an interest in devoting a portion of their research and development to underserved humanitarian medical needs, so VTIP is looking for a company with an interest in the area of malaria research and treatment to license the rights to this newly issued patent.

About VTIP
Formed in 1985 as an affiliated corporation of Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. is passionate in its pursuit of excellence in technology commercialization, creating market opportunities from scientific innovation. VTIP strives to make a positive contribution to society through expertise in protecting, marketing and commercializing technology and innovation. VTIP's goal is to pursue innovative strategies to help translate scientific progress into tangible products, while returning income to the inventor and Virginia Tech to support further research and education. VTIP facilitates the licensing of technology to companies, encourages new faculty startup ventures, works with publishers and distributors of software, and supports the transfer of research and knowledge to other universities, research institutes and companies. For more information about VTIP, visit http://www.vtip.org.

About VBI
Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech has a research platform centered on understanding the "disease triangle" of host-pathogen-environment interactions. With almost $49 million in extramural research funding awarded to date, VBI researchers are working on many human, crop, and animal diseases. For more information, contact Barry Whyte (Ph.D.), Strategic and Research Communications Officer at [email protected] and phone 540-231-1767 or visit the VBI website at https://www.vbi.vt.edu.

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