International Center for Genetic Engineering & Biology (ICGEB), New Delhi is working on atomic structures of key malaria parasite proteins to develop a drug target for this deadly disease.

There are quite a few anti-malarial drugs already available mostly due to intense research efforts from many groups worldwide. However, there are growing concerns about drug resistance. “Our research highlights an enzyme family that we believe gives numerous opportunities for novel anti-malarial drug development,” Dr. Amit Sharma, head, Structural and Computational Biology group, International Center for Genetic Engineering & Biology and winner of the Infosys Prize 2015 for Life Sciences told Pharmabiz in an email.

“The cellular structure of malaria parasites is well documented. Our focus has been to unravel the atomic structures of key malaria parasite proteins. We are exploring new enzyme families which can be targeted by small molecule inhibitors,” he said.

A team of 5-15 members are involved in for this research. ICGEB is focused on dissecting key structural attributes of parasite proteins with the overall aim of understanding and exploiting them for target and drug discovery. It is at the forefront of highlighting specific protein translation enzymes from malaria parasites as novel targets for discovering new generation of drugs against malaria. The laboratory has been able to contribute towards the atomic mapping of several key parasitic proteins, which could provide platforms for anti-malarial drug development.

“We along with several national and international groups have contributed significantly to validating our observations, and now there is stiff competition on many of the drug targets,” said Dr. Sharma.

The funding came in from non-institutional grants via national and international funding agencies. It was Dr. Sharma who set-up the structural biology laboratory at ICGEB, over a decade ago which has been substantially funded by Wellcome Trust, UK and the department of biotechnology.

Malaria elimination which is essentially malaria control, but different from malaria eradication is an achievable goal, and many countries have achieved it. “However, we need to be vigilant on the growing drug resistance and issues that spring from climate change where vector populations may rise or fall unpredictably,” he noted.

India has always contributed significantly to structural biology and bioinformatics. Globally these are key domains within modern molecular biology and molecular medicine research. “We should expect significantly more engagement and funding from private agencies for translational research in India. The country already has an exceptionally talented pool of young Indians, and the government has established numerous world class research institutions,” said Dr. Sharma.