DESTAQUE

Búzios recebe o XII BrazMedChem

Conferência de abertura celebra avanços do Brasil no combate à malária

Começa dia 20 de setembro em Búzios (RJ) o XII BrazMedChem, o maior evento da química medicinal no Brasil. O tema do evento é o "Resgate do empoderamento da ciência para a promoção da saúde humana". São mais de 330 inscritos, com uma forte presença de estrangeiros. "O grande diferencial do BrazMedChem é a grande representatividade internacional. Nosso objetivo é dar visibilidade ao que está sendo feito em química medicinal tanto aqui, quanto lá fora", afirma Floriano Paes Silva Junior, pesquisador chefe do Laboratório de Bioquímica Experimental e Computacional de Fármacos do IOC/FIOCRUZ, e coordenador da comissão organizadora do evento.

Ele explica que a escolha do tema ainda reflete os ataques à universidade e à ciência que ganharam corpo durante a pandemia de covid-19, e que ainda causam problemas à sociedade, como na questão da postura atual do governo dos EUA que vem seguidamente enfraquecendo seu sistema de vacinação. O golpe mais recente foi o anúncio do corte de financiamento para estudo e desenvolvimento de vacinas com tecnologia baseadas no RNA mensageiro.

A conferência de abertura será proferida pelo químico James Duffy, diretor sênior para Descoberta de Fármacos da Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). Em entrevista exclusiva ao Boletim Eletrônico SBQ (leia a íntegra abaixo), ele afirmou que é preciso encontrar novas formas de financiamento para a pesquisa por novos medicamentos de combate à malária. sobre o desafio de garantir o acesso das populações afetadas a estes medicamentos.

"Como a malária afeta principalmente pessoas que vivem em ambientes de baixos recursos, o incentivo comercial para que uma única empresa invista no desenvolvimento de medicamentos é extremamente limitado. O modelo de Parceria para o Desenvolvimento de Produtos (PDP) da MMV supera esse desafio alavancando uma ampla rede global de parceiros na indústria, no meio acadêmico e no setor público. Essa abordagem colaborativa permite o desenvolvimento de medicamentos inovadores e acessíveis para populações vulneráveis, onde os modelos tradicionais orientados pelo mercado não estariam dispostos ou não conseguiriam assumir o investimento", explica o pesquisador.

Duffy falou também sobre as contribuições da Química brasileira ao combate à malária, notadamente no desenvolvimento de protocolo de aplicação da tafenoquina, empregada desde 2023 pelo SUS no combate ao parasita Plasmodium vivax, o mais comum causador da malária no Brasil.

"Como o primeiro país com malária endêmica a adotar a tafenoquina, juntamente com o teste de G6PD como parte de sua estratégia de saúde pública, o Brasil liderou o caminho, mostrando a outros países o que é possível. A implementação foi baseada em evidências geradas pelo Estudo de Implementação da Tafenoquina (TRuST) no Brasil, que foi co-patrocinado pela MMV e pelo Ministério da Saúde", conta Duffy.

Além das conferências, a programação do BrazMedChem traz quatro sessões temáticas, uma mesa-redonda que junta academia e indústria, com foco em inovação. Também haverá apresentações de pôsteres, sessões coordenadas e premiações para cientistas em início de carreira, meio de carreira e consolidados.

Os premiados desta edição do BrazMedChem são:
Categoria Early Carrer - Profa. Vanessa do Nascimento, Universidade Federal Fluminense
Categoria Vanguard - Prof. Claudio Viegas Junior, Universidade Federal de Alfenas
Categoria Senior - Profa. Nubia Boechat Andrade, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz

James Duffy (MMV): "Abordagem colaborativa da MMV permite o desenvolvimento de medicamentos inovadores e acessíveis para populações vulneráveis, onde os modelos tradicionais orientados pelo mercado não estariam dispostos ou não conseguiriam assumir o investimento"

Malaria has killed nearly 600,000 people in 2023, 75% being children. MMVs basic goal in terms of drug development is to produce efficient, safe and low cost medicines that can be used by children and pregnant women. In this context, how do you view the following obstacles: finance; parasite resistance; access to medicines?
Past investments in malaria have saved millions of lives. The 18 medicines in MMV's portfolio have treated 711 million people and prevented tens of millions of malaria cases. However, rising pressures on global health funding put progress at risk. As malaria primarily affects people living in low-resource settings, the commercial incentive for any single company to invest in drug development is extremely limited. MMV's Product Development Partnership (PDP) model overcomes this challenge by leveraging a wide global network of partners across industry, academia, and the public sector. This collaborative approach enables the development of innovative, affordable medicines for vulnerable populations where traditional market-driven models would be unwilling or unable to take on the investment. The future of the fight against malaria depends on the ability of organizations like MMV to innovate and bring new tools to those most at risk. In addition, the need to diversify sources of funding both for R&D and access-to-medicines is more important than ever – encouragingly, more disease-impacted countries are motivated to participate more directly in all aspects of setting the R&D agenda and helping co-finance and co-develop new medicines.
Parasite resistance: Although today's artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) remain largely effective, evidence of partial resistance—meaning there is a delay in malaria parasite clearance after treatment with an ACT—has arisen in Southeast Asia then in Africa, posing a threat to continued progress.
In the immediate future, resistance can be evaded through better use of existing medicines. This includes partnering artemisinin with two drugs instead of one to create triple ACT combinations. Additionally, adding low doses of primaquine, which can kill the stages of the parasite lifecycle that are transmitted onwards, could also help limit the spread of resistance. Deployment strategies such as "multiple-first-line-treatment" programmes also seek to diversify the use of different ACTs to diminish drug pressure on (currently) overused individual ACT products like artemether-lumefantrine.
The development of novel medicines that can beat drug resistance is critical to facing this treat now and in the future. This is why the ongoing Phase 3 study of a novel non-artemisinin combination drug currently in development by MMV and Novartis is exciting.
Access to medicines: MMV believes medicines only matter when they reach the people who need them most. That's why our access strategy goes beyond developing new medicines—we work to ensure they are affordable, supported by strong supply chains, and made available through country-based partnerships, with a focus on underserved populations such as pregnant women, young children, and rural and indigenous communities, including the Yanomami in Brazil (see story here). We also engage with regulatory authorities and procurement agencies, generating the evidence needed to support uptake and enable decision-making. In Brazil, this includes efforts to expand access to tafenoquine, alongside G6PD testing.

How do you view the impact climate changes and conflict zones have on malaria occurrence?
Climate change is reshaping malaria transmission. Shifts in mosquito breeding patterns are expected to reduce cases in some areas, drive increases in others, and even introduce malaria to regions where it has never been seen before. This poses a major challenge for countries with little prior experience or health infrastructure to respond. According to a study published by WHO climate-driven changes could lead to an additional 60,000 malaria deaths annually by 2050. Early signs are already visible: in the Sahel, for example, malaria season is starting earlier and/or finishing later, complicating the timing of seasonal prevention campaigns.
Both climate change and conflict create instability and displacement, placing populations vulnerable to malaria at even greater risk. For people on the move—whether due to environmental disasters or violence—simple, effective tools are critical. Single-dose medicines like tafenoquine, and promising innovations such as long-acting injectables under development, offer practical solutions to protect those most affected.

Brazil has one medicine (tafenoquine) developed by MMV (with GSK) available in our public health system. What are your expectations for this visit to Brazil?
I am very fortunate to have been invited to speak at the BrazMedChem 2025. I'm a medicinal chemist by training and I am looking forward to being able to speak about the great work being done by MMV and our partners in the fight against malaria. In particular I hope to highlight the contribution of our South American partners in this endeavour. On a personal note, I feel strongly that scientists should never stop being students. Attending a meeting like BrazMedChem 2025 is a great opportunity to hear from world class experts but also to interact with early career researchers (...who often have the most interesting ideas!).

How do you view Brazil's contribution to the drug development for Malaria?
Brazil has made a landmark contribution to malaria drug development, particularly in the fight against relapsing Plasmodium vivax malaria. Brazil played a pioneering role in tafenoquine's development and deployment. Brazilian scientist, Marcus Lacerda was a principal investigator in the tafenoquine studies, leading to the drug's registration. Lacerda was recently honoured with a Medal of Scientific Merit by President Lula. As the first malaria-endemic country to adopt the medicine, alongside G6PD testing as part of its public health strategy, Brazil has led the way in showing other countries what is possible. The rollout was informed by evidence generated from Brazil's Tafenoquine Rollout Study (TRuST). The study was co-sponsored by MMV and the Brazilian Ministry of Health, and led by two malaria researchers and their associated institutes in Brazil: Dr. Marcus Lacerda from Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado Tropical Medicine Foundation (FMT-HVD) in Manaus and Dr. Dhelio Pereira, Tropical Medicine Research Centre of Rondônia (CEPEM) in Porto Velho. The national health system (SUS) along with the State and Municipal health secretariats in Manaus and Porto Velho were central to the success of the study and the subsequent roll out.
MMV collaborates with a range of Brazilian partners across the drug discovery, development, and access continuum. In discovery, institutions such as Fiocruz, Unicamp, and USP are working with MMV and other global health partners like DNDi on early-stage research, including parasitology studies. MMV has supported this work through funding for postdoctoral research as well as in-kind contributions in areas such as parasitology and on the development side, DMPK, and safety studies.
For instance, our collaboration with Prof. Luiz Dias (Unicamp) is progressing well—his team has identified compounds with a potentially novel mechanism of action and strong promise for further development. We look forward to continuing this partnership and expanding our network of Brazilian and regional collaborators who share our commitment to discovering and developing new antimalarial treatments for populations at-risk of malaria.

Saiba mais: https://brazmedchem.org/

Texto: Mario Henrique Viana (Assessoria de Imprensa da SBQ)