Investing in Noble Prize Achievements Drugs to Battle Crippling Parasites Securities.io

Investing in Noble Prize Achievements Drugs to Battle Crippling Parasites Securities.io

The Fight Against Parasitic Diseases: Nobel Prize Achievements

Parasitic diseases affect a large part of the world’s population, especially in tropical areas and poor countries. Unlike bacterial infections, parasitic diseases are caused by organisms that are difficult to treat with drugs, making it a major challenge for medical science.

The discovery of ivermectin, a drug used in animal and human health, was significant in the fight against parasitic diseases caused by nematode worms and arthropods. Satoshi Ōmura, a Japanese microbiologist, and William C. Campbell, an expert in parasite biology, co-discovered the drug. Ivermectin was first commercialized in 1981 and was initially used as a veterinary antiparasitic. Merck, the employer of Campbell, played a vital role in the complete eradication of river blindness in many countries. Anti-parasite treatment is a significant part of its $5.6 billion veterinary business, which makes up 10% of its total revenues.

Youyou Tu, a Chinese pharmaceutical chemist, worked on combating malaria using traditional Chinese medicine to find new therapies. By screening plenty of herbal remedies, an extract from the plant Artemisia annua was found to be a potential candidate. Eventually, the active compound was successfully isolated and named artemisinin. The molecule is highly efficient against malaria, but also more expensive than some alternatives.

The Nobel Prize in Medicine

The Nobel Prize was created according to Mr. Alfred Nobel’s will to give a prize “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind” in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. Over the years, it has rewarded achievements that have built the foundations of the modern world, including radioactivity, antibiotics, X-rays, and PCR, as well as fundamental science like the power source of the sun, the electron charge, atomic structure, or superfluidity.

The decision to create the Nobel Prize came to Alfred Nobel after he read his own obituary, which slammed him for inventing smokeless explosives, of which dynamite was the most famous. Nobel once said, “every man ought to have at least two ways to earn a living, if not to do good” and so realized that his legacy could be more than a man remembered for making a fortune over war and the death of others. The Nobel Prize is currently stored in a fund invested to generate income to finance the Nobel Foundation and the respective awards attributed to the winners.

Parasitic Diseases

Parasitic diseases are caused by multicellular organisms or advanced single-cell eukaryotes organisms with advanced camouflage mechanisms. An example of such a disease is Lymphatic Filariasis, which afflicts more than 100 million people and results in chronic inflammation, life-long disabling clinical symptoms, Elephantiasis (Lymphedema), and Scrotal Hydrocele. River Blindness (Onchocerciasis), caused by being bitten by a fly carrying the disease, affects 15.5 million people. Malaria, a disease transmitted through warm-weather mosquito bites, is a threat to 3.4 billion of the world’s most vulnerable citizens, with more than 450,000 deaths recorded each year.

Drugs that target bacterial infections, such as antibiotics that act directly on the bacteria cell walls, cannot work against parasites. Molecules like ivermectin and artemisinin have been explored to find a solution. Ivermectin is efficient against lymphatic filariasis and other parasitic diseases caused by nematode worms and arthropods. On the other hand, artemisinin is a very efficient malarial drug that is produced from a precursor molecule synthesized by genetically engineered yeast, making the production process more efficient than direct extraction from the plant.

Investing in Parasitic Diseases Fighting Companies

Investing in pharmaceutical companies with a commitment to parasitic diseases fighting research could be a great opportunity for investors. Merck has a long history of leadership in the field of infectious disease segments, from anti-parasite treatments to vaccines and dedicated molecules.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has started the roll-out of a new malaria vaccine in Africa in 2024. In clinical trials, the vaccine prevented half of the malaria cases a year after vaccination and could reduce cases by 75% if used seasonally. GSK is also the manufacturer of albendazole, a broad anti-worm and anti-parasite molecule. The company has been giving 10 billion tablets of the drug for free since 2000 to fight lymphatic filariasis and soil-transmitted helminths, the two most widespread Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). GSK is a very large pharmaceutical company with the experience, R&D pipeline, and network to make a real difference in the fight against infectious diseases.

Investment in the fight against parasitic diseases will remain a significant business for large pharmaceutical companies in the future. Governments and non-governmental organizations also support research and funding for parasitic diseases

Originally Post From https://www.securities.io/investing-in-noble-prize-achievements-drugs-to-battle-crippling-parasites/

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