Understanding malaria research: UA2239, a promising molecule born in the NuEP team’s laboratories

In the face of nearly 260 million malaria cases reported worldwide each year, the search for innovative treatments remains a major priority. Researchers from the NuEP team, led by Suzanne Peyrottes, have achieved a significant breakthrough with the synthesis of UA2239, a promising compound.

Featuring a novel mode of action discovered by the team of Professor Rachel Cerdan (LPHI, Montpellier), UA2239 targets a key stage in the malaria parasite’s life cycle by irreversibly blocking its exit from red blood cells.

These findings, published in Science Advances, provide a detailed description of UA2239’s mechanism of action and lay the groundwork for the development of a new generation of antimalarial treatments. (article here)

To make this advance accessible to a wider audience, the IBMM and the Chimie Balard Center of the University of Montpellier are accompanying the publication with the release of a science outreach video. The video retraces the scientific pathway, from the design and synthesis of the molecule to the elucidation of its mechanism of action, highlighting the collaborative effort behind this discovery.