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Chapter 14
Problem: Finding
New Treatments for
Orphan Diseases
from Existing Drugs
M
that aects red blood cells and the liver, where
red blood cells are created. Malaria is a treatable disease, but over
time the malaria parasite mutates in such a way that the standard treatments
become less eective. New treatments are needed, but investment in malaria
research is limited because the disease is most prevalent in poorer countries
that cannot pay much for advanced drugs. is is why malaria is sometimes
referred to as an “orphan disease,” a term given to diseases that are not heav-
ily researched, though their eect on h