Findings from two early clinical studies suggest a new dual-action antimalarial drug candidate is well tolerated in humans.
The first-in-class clinical candidate, MK7602, is being developed by WEHI and global biopharmaceutical company MSD (tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA).
The Phase 1 trials, led by MSD, found that the compound can achieve blood concentration levels predicted to deliver its intended antimalarial effect – a key milestone that supports progression to later-stage clinical evaluation.
MK-7602 emerged from a medicinal chemistry programme by MSD and WEHI that was built on initial hits identified by the National Drug Discovery Centre (NDDC) at WEHI using its advanced screening technologies.