Memento Award 2017 goes to tropical disease specialists from Tübingen
This year, the Memento Research Award for neglected diseases goes to Dr Carsten Köhler and Prof Peter Kremsner from the Institute of Tropical Diseases at the University Hospital Tübingen. With this, the jury honours their contributions to improving malaria treatment. The Memento Research Award is worth 5,000 euros. The prize is funded by Bread for the World.
“In clinical trials, Mr Köhler and Mr Kremsner were able to demonstrate that the drug artesunate only requires three intramuscular administrations to be completely effective,” says jury chairman Prof Stefan Kaufmann from the Max-Planck-Institute for Infection Biology. “After only 24 hours, 99 percent of the parasites had been eliminated in 80 percent of the patients. A short and simplified treatment regime like this makes a big difference, especially in conditions under which very many children have to be treated for malaria simultaneously.”
At the German Center for Infection Research, Prof Kremsner coordinates the research field “Malaria” which focusses on improving therapies and also on developing a vaccine.
You can read more about the award-winning trial in our 13 January 2016 press release
About the Memento Research Award
The health demands of billions of people living in poorer countries have been neglected for a long time. Diagnostics, drugs and vaccines against neglected diseases such as sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and tuberculosis are either not available at all or out of date and unsuited for use in regions with weak infrastructures.
In order to create awareness for this crisis, Doctors without Borders, Bread for the World, BUKO Pharma-Kampagne and the DAHW German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association united and called to life the Memento Research Award for neglected diseases. Since 2014, it has been awarded to people who are strongly committed to fighting neglected diseases in the categories “Research and Development”, “Political Will” and “Journalism”.
