Inhibitor that increases effectiveness of malaria drugs

• A small inhibitor that blocks an enzyme (Rad51) that plays a crucial role in repairing DNA damage in malaria-causing parasite — Plasmodium falciparum — has been identified.
• In the case of drug-sensitive malaria parasites, the effectiveness of artemisinin to kill the parasites increases sharply when used together with the inhibitor. 
• In the case of drug-resistant parasites, when the inhibitor is used along with chloroquine, 6.48-fold less concentration of the drug is sufficient kill 50% of parasites, while it is only 4.6-fold reduction when the inhibitor is used together with artemisinin.
• There is increasing prevalence of malaria parasites that are resistant to artemisinin, a first-line drug. So increasing the effectiveness of the drug becomes important.