23 May 2025 | Event
UMADT Meeting with the ARDENT-GS Consortium
By UMADT
Universiti Malaya Affordable Diagnostics and Therapeutics (UMADT) was honoured to host an inspiring and fruitful meeting with the Artesunate Repurposing Drug Mechanism and Novel Trials for the Global South (ARDENT-GS) consortium. The meeting brought together an interdisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, and advocates committed to advancing the repurposing of artesunate for cancer treatment in Malaysia, the ASEAN region, and the Global South.
The day began with scientific discussions led by UMADT’s team of researchers and postgraduate students, who presented updates on their work investigating the mechanism of action of artesunate in colorectal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and cervical cancer. The team also shared developments in their bioinformatics strategy for drug repurposing, highlighting the role of computational tools in identifying new uses for existing therapies. These scientific efforts are underpinned by strong policy development and a robust framework designed to support the sustainable advancement of drug repurposing initiatives in the region.
In the afternoon, UMADT welcomed clinicians from the Ministry of Health Malaysia and the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, who are serving as Principal Investigators on two Phase II clinical trials focused on artesunate repurposing for colorectal cancer and pre-cervical cancer. These trials are scheduled to begin recruitment in Malaysia in June 2025. The meeting brought together a wide range of experts—including surgeons, oncologists, infectious disease specialists, pathologists, molecular biologists, pharmacologists, and social scientists—who are all working collaboratively to advance clinical research grounded in strong scientific rationale and a clear policy framework.
UMADT extends its sincere appreciation to Clinical Research Malaysia for their outstanding work in study feasibility, capacity building, and site preparedness training. Their support has been instrumental in ensuring the smooth selection, setup, and delivery of these two Investigator-Initiated Studies (IIS) on artesunate repurposing for cancer and pre-cancer.