Anti-malaria drug may help ease asthma

Dr Eugene Ho Wanxing, a Research Fellow and recent PhD graduate from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, was part of a team led by A/Prof Fred Wong from the Department of Pharmacology at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, who discovered that artesunate, a common herbal-based anti-malaria drug, can be used to control asthma and with better treatment outcomes than other drugs currently available.

On why such research was important, Dr Ho said asthma was a “global health concern and one of the most major chronic non-communicable respiratory diseases in the world”. He also added that, “the increasing prevalence and morbidity of this disease has prompted us to better understand it and identify better controls.”

Dr Eugene Ho (left) and Associate Professor Fred Wong hope to launch clinical trials in two years. Photo credit: The Straits Times

To address the global unmet demand for better therapeutics to control allergic asthma, Dr Ho explored the therapeutic values of artesunate as an alternative drug candidate. This study was part of his final-year project when he was pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences at NUS. His initial findings demonstrated that artesunate possessed promising anti-inflammatory potential. For his postgraduate studies, Dr Ho built upon his findings to better understand the therapeutic properties and molecular mechanisms of artesunate under the supervision of A/Prof Fred Wong.

Thanks to the research team, this new pharmacological discovery may soon help asthmatic patients have a more effective way to control their conditions.

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