Initial in vitro testing conducted by the Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (ProvLab) in Alberta, Canada, showed that Upstream’s potential drug candidates demonstrated anti-malarial activity in the nanomolar range. Activity in this range in a new class of drugs has the potential to represent an important advance in the treatment of resistant disease.
Stephanie Yanow, program leader at ProvLab, said: “These preliminary results indicating that Upstream’s novel structural class of anti-parasitic agents is demonstrating promising anti-malarial activity are encouraging, especially in view of the high unmet need for more effective anti-malarial therapies.”