CWHM-1008 is an effective oral antimalarial drug. The EC50 values of the drug-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum3D7 and drug-resistant Dd2 strains are 46 and 21 nM, respectively.
AN3661, a potent antimalarial lead compound, targets a Plasmodium falciparum cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor homologue subunit 3 (PfCPSF3). AN3661 inhibits Plasmodium falciparum laboratory-adapted strains, Ugandan field isolates, and murine P. berghei and P. falciparum infections[1]. AN3661 is active at nanomolar (IC50=20-56 nM) concentrations against P. falciparum laboratory strains known to be sensitive (3D7) or resistant (W2, Dd2, K1, HB3, FCR3 and TM90C2B), and AN3661 is similarly active in ex vivo studies of fresh Ugandan field isolates (mean ex vivo IC50=64 nM). AN3661 shows minimal cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines, with the CC50 60.5 μM against Jurkat cells, and all other CC50 values greater than the highest concentrations tested (25 μM or above)[1].AN3661 inhibits the stability of P. falciparum transcripts[1]. AN3661 (50-200 mg.kg; p.o.; daily for 4 days) inhibits murine P. berghei infections with ED90 (4 days) 0.34 mg kg[1].AN3661 is administered orally for 4 days, beginning on the third day of infection, the ED90 4 days after initiation of treatment is 0.57 mg kg[1]. Animal Model: P. berghei-infected mice (malaria model)[1] [1]. Sonoiki E, et al. A potent antimalarial benzoxaborole targets a Plasmodium falciparum cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor homologue. Nat Commun. 2017;8:14574. Published 2017 Mar 6.
Purfalcamine is an orally active, selective Plasmodium falciparum calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (PfCDPK1) inhibitor with an IC50 of 17 nM and an EC50 of 230 nM. Purfalcamine has antimalarial activity and causes malaria parasites developmental arrest at the schizont stage[1][2]. Purfalcamine has low activity against Toxoplasma gondii calcium-dependent protein kinase 3 (TgCDPK3)[1]. Purfalcamine (225, 450 nM) has no effect on the parasitemia in the first 32 hours. After about 40 hours, parasite level remains stable and then begins dropping[1]. Purfalcamine inhibits proliferation with EC50s of 171-259 nM for P. falciparum strains (3D7, Dd2, FCB, HB3 and W2), which indicates effectiveness against drug-resistant parasites[1]. Given that the EC50 value for P. falciparum (3D7) is 230 nM, Purfalcamine shows a therapeutic window ranging from 23-fold to 36-fold (EC50s for CHO=12.33 μM, HEp2=7.235 μM, HeLa=7.029 μM and Huh7=5.476 μM)[1]. Purfalcamine (10 mg kg; oral gavage; BID; for 6 days) demonstrates a delay in the onset of parasitemia in treated mice[1]. Purfalcamine (20 mg kg; orally gavage) exhibits a Cmax of 2.6 μM with a half-life of 3.1 hours[1]. Animal Model: Male BALB c mice, 7 weeks of age with the malaria parasite[1] [1]. Nobutaka Kato, et al. Gene expression signatures and small-molecule compounds link a protein kinase to Plasmodium falciparum motility. Nat Chem Biol. 2008 Jun;4(6):347-56. [2]. Rajshekhar Y Gaji, et al. Expression of the essential Kinase PfCDPK1 from Plasmodium falciparum in Toxoplasma gondii facilitates the discovery of novel antimalarial drugs. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2014 May;58(5):2598-607.