Magic Bullets to Conquer Malaria: From Quinine to Qinghaosu

After more than four decades of working on the frontlines in the war against malaria, author Irwin W. Sherman is uniquely qualified to present this chronicle of the search for medicines to conquer malaria. The book not only reviews the history of antimalarial medicines, it also explains the hurdles that lie ahead in the discovery and development of effective treatments and control strategies. Moreover, it provides new perspectives on the creative process of drug discovery as well as the challenges of overcoming drug resistance.

Magic Bullets To Conquer Malaria provides a historical overview of the medicines that have been used to treat malaria. It recounts how these drugs were discovered, how they have been used, and why they have failed to eradicate this disease. In addition, readers will learn about the use of larvicides, bednets, and DDT as well as recombinant DNA and monoclonal antibodies to block malaria transmission from mosquitoes to humans.

Each year, there are some 350 million to 500 million cases of malaria, killing between one million and three million people, the majority of whom are children in sub-Saharan Africa. This book will help microbiologists, parasitologists, pharmacologists, medicinal chemists, biochemists, physicians, and drug researchers better understand what has been done and what still needs to be done in the battle against malaria. Even readers with a limited background in chemistry and biology will find that the book s clear, conversational style enables them to make sense of 300 years of malarial drug research, from quinine to today s drugs and beyond.