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Morehouse seeks patent on malaria diagnosis kit
Morehouse School of Medicine is seeking to patent a new way to diagnose and manage
malaria.
According to a patent application made public today, the technology detects biomarkers
-- a small molecule, protein or nucleic acid -- that can be detected and measured
in body fluids to predict the severity and mortality of malaria.
"Malaria transmission and mortality rates remain unchanged in endemic countries lacking
adequate health care and malaria control despite the use of preventive measures and
treatments against malaria," the patent application notes. "A major obstacle to effective
malaria control is the lack of affordable and accurate malaria diagnostics and treatment,
which has led to misuse and abuse of anti-malarial drugs and the development of drug
resistant parasites."
According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, 3.3 billion people live
in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 106 countries and territories. The World
Health Organization estimates that in 2010 malaria caused 216 million clinical episodes,
and 655,000 deaths. An estimated 91 percent of deaths in 2010 were in the African
region, followed by the South-East Asia region (6 percent), and the Eastern Mediterranean
region (3 percent). About 86 percent of deaths globally were in children.
Many pharmaceutical companies and researchers are working on malaria treatments and
tests. Dozens of other malaria-related patents have recently been filed, including
the University of Texas and University of California.
The inventors of Morehouse's new technique are Jonathan K. Stiles, James W. Lillard,
Henry B. Armatei, and Nano Otoo Wilson.