Artemisinin: A Case Study in Tailoring Scientific Communication for Diverse Audiences

To all our Chinese partners, happy Lunar New Year! The Lunar New Year presents an opportunity to reflect upon the scientific contributions originating from China.

China is renowned for huge advances in engineering and manufacturing and has also delivered significant innovations in medicines and therapeutic agents. One of the most significant contributions by China towards global health is the discovery of artemisinin.

The Discovery of Artemisinin

Professor Tu Youyou first isolated artemisinin, a chemical compound, from sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) in 1972. Professor Tu developed and shared a reliable method to extract this compound and conducted the first clinical trial of Artemisia extract in the same year. Her pioneering work and the impact of her discoveries on global health were recognised with the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2015.

The Importance of Audience-Specific Scientific Writing

A discussion of the use of artemisinin in the treatment of malaria provides the perfect backdrop to showcase the importance of writing for your audience. We’ve written two excerpts demonstrating how scientific content can be adapted for different audiences:

Excerpt 1

This excerpt is designed to be more accessible and understandable for a wider audience, such as scientists without in-depth knowledge of drug discovery, marketers, finance professionals, or others in the pharmaceutical industry who are affiliated with drug discovery but not directly involved. While the language and visuals are simplified, the scientific meaning remains intact.

Excerpt 2

This excerpt is intended for a highly specialized audience, primarily those with PhD-level qualifications and expertise in drug discovery and development. This style of writing is typical of academic journals and mirrors the level of detail used by laboratory-based scientists.

Examples of Audience-Specific Scientific Writing

Read the following excerpts to get an understanding for how the same scientific information can be communicated effectively to both general and specialized audiences, respectively.

Excerpt 1: Artemisinin and Anti-Malarial Research for a Wider Audience

Malaria is a disease that affects a large portion of the global population. In 2022 alone, there were over 249 million cases and 608,000 malaria-related deaths. Malaria is prevalent in areas inhabited by the Anopheles mosquito. It is transmitted from mosquitoes to humans through the bite of an infected female mosquito, which becomes infected after biting an infected person (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Simplified malaria life cycle. Taken from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Malaria-transmission-cycle_fig1_344575553

When an infected mosquito takes a blood meal, the parasites in its body enter the victim's bloodstream. They travel to the liver, mature, and are released, infecting red blood cells. The infection of red blood cells causes the symptoms of malaria. There are five species of parasite that can cause malaria in humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae, and P. knowlesi. P. falciparum infections are the most common and cause the majority of severe illness and death. 

While many effective drugs exist for malaria treatment, such as artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), mefloquine, and quinine, drug resistance is an increasing problem. This means they are becoming less effective, both as preventatives (prophylactic treatment) and treatments for infected individuals. However, ongoing research aims to develop drugs that overcome these resistance mechanisms. Some examples include:

• Modifying vaccinations to include 'adjuvants': These added ingredients boost the body's immune response to malaria infection, enabling it to clear the infection quickly with mild or no symptoms.

• Improving drug potency and concentration in the bloodstream: This ensures that the maximum amount of the active drug is absorbed into the bloodstream.

• Targeting different stages of the parasite's life cycle in the human body: This includes targeting the parasite in the liver before it is released into the bloodstream, where it can cause more significant damage.

• Using chemical biology to identify specific markers on the parasite's surface: These markers can be targeted by specific drug molecules or vaccines.

Excerpt 2: Artemisinin and Anti-Malarial Research for a Specialised Audience

Malaria, an Anopheles mosquito-borne disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite, is a significant global health concern. Over 249 million cases and 608 000 malaria-related deaths reported in 2022.

The most severe form of the disease is caused by P. falciparum, while P. vivax can both provoke severe disease and relapse.  The malaria life cycle involves hosts of two species and comprises multiple stages including mosquito stages and human liver and human blood stages (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Malaria life-cycle. Taken from https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/malaria/index.html

There are many effective antimalarials, including artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs – commonly first-line treatment), chloroquine phosphate, sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, mefloquine, primaquine phosphate, halofantrine, and quinine. Each drug can eliminate symptomatic infection and offer prophylaxis against malaria, but many are facing increasing resistance, necessitating the development of new treatments.

Current research efforts across various organisations, including big pharma, non-profits, and start-ups, are investigating different stages of the malaria parasite’s life cycle. Notable research avenues include:

• Vaccine design using adjuvants: Conjugating TLR2 agonist adjuvants with antigens like Pam3Cys (a TLR1/2 agonist) stimulates the production of diverse antibody isotypes (e.g., IgG1, IgG3, and IgG4) with increased titres.

• Prodrugs: Artesunate (2), a marketed succinate ester prodrug of the anti-malarial dihydroartemisinin (3), has improved solubility for IV administration. Metabolism of artesunate by plasma esterases (t_max = 0.5 – 15 min) releases DHA in vivo, resulting in a 5-fold increase in AUC for dihydroartemisinin (3) compared to direct DHA administration.

• Host-directed therapeutic interventions: Targeting the Plasmodium parasite's lifecycle within the human host, for example, the liver stage.

• Peptide-based vaccinations: Promising results with two specific antigens of interest: the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and the apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1).

 Conclusion: Communicating Science Effectively

By comparing the two excerpts and their associated visuals, it becomes clear that effectively communicating scientific content requires different approaches depending on the target audience.

ConsultaChem specialises in creating and promoting high-quality editorial content for the scientific community, helping clients reach diverse audiences by translating complex research into engaging and accessible content.