Artemisinin, today considered the main antimalarial drug, could be produced at low cost by creating genetically modified yeast. Numerous research chasing the dream of making such microorganisms capable of producing acid artemisinic, precursor of the active ingredient of the drug. The greatest successes have been achieved during experiments conducted bioengineering at the University of California (source: Nature).
Malaria kills more than a million people a year, mostly children; the most affected areas are in Africa, regions such as sub-Saharan Africa that have limited availability of resources for prevention and cure. The drug now considered more effective especially against strains resistant to other therapies is that artemisinin is extracted from Artemisia annua, a plant known since ancient times for its medicinal properties. Being a rare plant, the drug which it is produced is very expensive. The solution could come from bioengineering: Researchers have genetically modified the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, inserting its DNA two genes of Artemisia annua. This makes the yeast capable of producing acid artemisinic, precursor of the active ingredient of the drug, obtainable at this point chemically synthesized by the acid. We will be able to make available this progress of bioengineering to all who need it in the world?