E-DRUG: Chinese spices: star anise and artemisinin
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Dear all, Dear Andy,
I appreciate your comments on the star anise story. However your comments concerning artemisinin are wrong. There is currently hardly any shortage of artemisinin (whatever the WHO or RBM or Novartis may say) and next year we expect excess quantities being produced. Production is not confined to China since today Vietnam has become a major producer of artemisinin and its therapeutic derivatives artesunate and artemether. Each country can easily scale up the annual production to 100 tons or more, enough to treat every single malaria patient in the world.
It is correct that a synthetic route is being investigated by the Institute for One World Health (in collaboration with the California Institute of Quantitative Biomedical Research and Amyris Biotechnologies, using E. coli - a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the tune of US $42.6 - see http://www.oneworldhealth.org/diseases/malaria.php).
The European but independent counterpart of this production is jointly run by experts of the Waageningen university in The Netherlands in collabotration with Dafra Pharma ltd of Belgium. The latter one is financing the quite well advanced project. Progress is good and fully on schedule. See: Press relase document.
Best regards,
Dr. F. Herwig Jansen
30 Witte Bremlaan
2360 Oud-Turnhout
Belgium
fhjansen@skynet.be
Dafra Pharma NV/SA
Slachthuisstraat 30 bus 7
2300 Turnhout
Belgium
info@dafra.be
www.dafra.be
Press Release no. 2005-12, 27 June, 2005
Novel production of anti malaria drug ahead
Dafra Pharma and PLANT RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL join forces to develop novel biotechnological routes for production of anti malaria drug.
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Dafra Pharma (Turnhout, Belgium) and PLANT RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL (part of Wageningen UR, Wageningen, the Netherlands) have signed an agreement to jointly develop alternative and more reliable artemisinin production methods.
A two-fold research strategy has been adapted. The co-operative effort will be aimed at enhancement of production with the plant Artemisia annua, as well as the biosynthetic production of artemisinin by combining microbial fermentation and chemistry. During the first stages both projects will run in parallel, since the same enzymes that are used by the plant for production of artemisinin are also needed for biosynthetic production.
Artemisinin is a plant -produced antimalarial drug which has been in widespread use for curing malaria in Asia for many years. The recent rapid adoption by the African continent of this medicament has resulted in shortages in supply and increased prices of the active material.
Dafra Pharma, which has been marketing artemisinin based therapy in Africa since 1997, became hindered by the shortage of supply for further expansion of its Artemisinin Combination Therapy in Africa. In the course of 2004, the problem became especially pertinent and a search for alternative production methods was started.
The research institute Plant Research International has strong research capabilities targeted to exploit the unique properties of plants for pharmaceutical and health related applications. The institute has been involved in basic research into the biochemistry of artemisinin production since 1997. Within this time frame the enzymatic route in the plant was elucidated and one of the key enzymes, amorpha-1,4-diene, was isolated.
Further research has resulted in valuable additional information on the enzymatic steps leading to the biosynthesis of Artemisinin.
At the end of 2004 it became clear that a close co-operation between Dafra Pharma and Plant Research International could lead to success. As of the 1st of June the agreement has been signed to execute the first phase of the projects. Dafra will provide the funding for the research for this stage. Further capital investments and options for collaboration with other third parties, are actively being pursued.
Dafra Pharma is an independent Belgian SME which has specialized in Africa and artemisinin therapy since 1997. Dafra's products are present in all countries in Sub-Sahara Africa and have the largest turnover in Artemisinin therapies of all parties in the private market.
Plant Research International is part of Wageningen University & Research Centre. One of its main research topics is the use of plants for human health, using the vast possibilities of plants for the production of biologically active compounds.
For further information you can contact:
Dafra Pharma Plant Research International
Edwin Mincke ERIK TOUSSAINT
Directeur Export Communications Manager
+ 32 473 451 491 +31 317 47 70 17
www.dafra.be www.plant.wageningen-ur.nl