Less effective antimalarial therapies can help fight malaria better

13 November 2015

Oxford University scientists have found that the more effective way to beat malaria is to use less effective drugs some of the time.

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The current drug of choice for malaria - artemisinin - is extremely effective at saving lives from the disease, but artemisinin-resistant malaria parasites are spreading as the drug is used more and more. A computer simulation study now suggests that treating malaria in a population by simultaneously using a non-artemisinin therapy amongst more effective artemisinin-based combinations is the best way to combat the disease, while still reducing the spread of drug-resistant malaria. Writing in the Lancet Global Health, scientists at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine at Oxford University found that this combination worked best even when the non-artemisinin drug was only effective 85% of the time in treating malaria.

Singula Bio, a new Oxford spin-out company - Cancer need not be fatal

25 February 2021

Singula Bio, a bold new seed-stage biotechnology company spun out of Oxford University, has been launched with the intention of helping show that cancer need not be fatal. Led by three Oxford cancer specialists, the firm is aims to become a world leader in therapies to use against difficult-to-treat solid malignancies such as ovarian cancer - using the body’s own immune system to fight previously fatal cancers.

Major rise in public support for COVID vaccine – Oxford study

24 February 2021

More than three quarters of people in the UK now say they are ’very likely’ to have the vaccine – up from 50% among the same group of survey respondents five months ago –according to a two-wave Oxford University survey published today.

Three ways virtual reality could transform mental health treatment

22 February 2021

Coronavirus vaccination linked to substantial reduction in hospitalisation, real-world data suggests

22 February 2021

The first study to describe the effects in real-world communities of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine has been reported in a pre-print publication today, showing a clear reduction in the risk of hospitalisation from COVID-19 amongst those who have received the vaccine.

Reprogramming tumour cells using an antimalarial drug

18 February 2021

Results from the ATOM clinical trial at the University of Oxford have shown that the anti-malarial drug Atovaquone can reduce very low oxygen tumour environments. This has the potential to make cancers behave less aggressively and to improve the impact of everyday cancer treatments.

Oxford-led technology to help those at high risk from Covid-19

16 February 2021

More people in England at high risk from Covid-19 will get priority access to vaccines thanks to new technology developed by a University of Oxford-led team of researchers that can identify those who may be most vulnerable to the virus.