Synthetic Biology - Applications - Artemisinin

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Researchers

Michelle Chang, Rob Dahl, Rachel Eachus, Kim Ho, Connie Kang, Jim Kirby, Mario Ouellet, Eric Paradise, John Haliburton, Christopher Petzold

Project Description

Malaria: Malaria is an infectious disease caused by protozoans of the genus Plasmodium, and is transmitted by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. The species P. falciparum accounts for the preponderance of global morbidity and mortality, and 41 percent of the world's population live in areas where malaria is endemic. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease but it is estimated to kill one to three million people each year, primarily young children.


Problem: Malaria has become increasingly resistant to first-line drug therapies, but combination drugs containing artemisinin derivatives show nearly 100 percent effectiveness against the malaria parasite. Yet, at a price of approximately $2.40 per adult course, these drugs are still beyond the reach of the world's poorest people.


Solution: With a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a partnership between the University of California, Berkeley, Amyris Biotechnologies, and the Institute for OneWorld Health is using synthetic biology to help reduce the cost of artemisinin, making life-saving artemisinin combination therapies more accessible to people in the developing world.

More information: http://www.artemisininproject.org/

Relevant Publications

  • D-K. Ro, E. M. Paradise, M. Ouellet, K. J. Fisher, K. L. Newman, J. M. Ndungu, K. A. Ho, R. A. Eachus, T. S. Ham, J. Kirby, M. C. Y. Chang, S. T. Withers, Y. Shiba, R. Sarpong, and J. D. Keasling. 2006. “Production of the antimalarial drug precursor artemisinic acid in engineered yeast.” Nature 440:940-943.
  • V. J. J. Martin, D. J. Pitera, S. T. Withers, J. D. Newman, and J. D. Keasling. 2003. “Engineering the mevalonate pathway in Escherichia coli for production of terpenoids.” Nat. Biotechnol. 21:796-802.

Funding Resources

  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Institute for OneWorld Health


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