New research could increase availability of life saving drug

An effective treatment for a deadly strain of meningitis could become more readily available in less developed nations as a result of research led by Professor Graham Sandford of the Department of Chemistry. Cryptococcal Meningitis (CM) is the leading cause of meningitis in Saharan Africa and also accounts for 20% of HIV/AIDs deaths worldwide. Whilst in developed nations around 9% of those diagnosed with CM die, this figure rises to 70% in sub-Saharan Africa where availability of suitable drug treatment is limited, due in part to cost. Now research by Professor Sandford and Ph.D. student Antal Harsanyi has resulted in an innovative, simplified method of producing the vital drug flucytosine, which could significantly reduce cost. Complex, high-cost production The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that CM be treated with a combination of drugs including flucytosine. Flucytosine is included in the WHO Essential Medicines list , which details the minimum drugs the organisation considers necessary for basic health care systems.