Clinical testing of new antimalarial compounds.

More than 200 000 chemical compounds have been screened for antimalarial activity over the past 10 years by the US Army Antimalarial Drug Development Program. By means of extensive animal testing, 26 of these compounds were selected for clinical study in human subjects volunteering for such trials. Of these, 7 have received complete clinical trials and are in various stages of field evaluation, 4 are currently undergoing clinical trial, and 2 are still awaiting testing in volunteer subjects. Thus far, 2 compounds (WR 33 063 and WR 30 090) have demonstrated greater activity against drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum than any other known drug. Several other compounds presently being tested in human subjects are even more potent.