WRAIR hosts the fourth annual Magill Malaria Forum

On April 26, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research hosted the fourth annual Magill Malaria Forum, entitled “Overcoming Challenges at the Front Lines of Malaria.”  The event included remarks by clinicians, researchers and product users followed by a panel discussion to review the current state of malaria research with a special focus on military medical research around the world.

WRAIR's 2018 Year-in-Review

With the passage of 2018, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research marks another year of protecting the nation’s top weapons system – the U.S. Soldier. Throughout the history of armed conflict, non-battle injuries have typically constituted the largest source of casualties.  This trend has continued into the 21st century during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom where battle wounds caused less than 20% of evacuations from theater while disease caused approximately 50%.  With approximately 2000 Soldiers, federal civilians and contractors across four continents and over two dozen countries, WRAIR provides Soldiers the best medical protection and support possible before, during and after their deployment.

New antimalarial drug, tafenoquine, approved for malaria prevention

WRAIR celebrates the FDA-licensure of tafenoquine for malaria chemoprophylaxis. Tafenoquine is the latest in a series of products from an extensive antimalarial drug discovery and development pipeline. WRAIR conducted initial drug development and early preclinical and clinical trials at its Silver Spring headquarters, USAMRD-Africa, and AFRIMS before passing responsibility to the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity and 60° Pharmaceuticals. Tafenoquine is safe, effective against malaria relapse, and enjoys the advantage of less frequent dosing, weekly instead of daily, for malaria prevention.