Prof. Li Guoqiao, the chief scientist of Artepharm Co., Ltd., is one of the principal inventors of artemisinin and artemisinin-based Combinations. Prof. Li has engaged in the R&D of antimalarials and antiviral drugs for more than 30 years. His inventions and discoveries have repeatedly won the State Invention Award and State Science and Technology Progress Award issued by the Chinese government. The research on artimisinin compound has been enlisted in the State Torch Project which is a top scientific research program in China and this compound was recommended by WHO. Prof. Li is the first person who has confirmed that artemisinin has the merits of quick action and low toxicity in treatment of falciparum malaria. When Prof. Li succeeded in using artemisinin derivatives to save the lives of severe malarial patients such as those stricken by cerebral malaria, his discovery initiated a nationwide collaboration on the study of artemisinin and it has turned out to be a classic achievement in modern Chinese herb research. This Chinese medicine has been approved and applied worldwide since the 7-day regimen of artemisinin derivatives recommended by Prof. Li Guoqiao was set as the standard regimen by WHO. In 1991, Prof. Li Guoqiao was invited to Vietnam to promote the application of artemisinin in the treatment of severe malaria. The Ministry of Health of Vietnam adopted his suggestion of using artemisinin on a large scale to reduce the morbidity and mortality of severe malaria. As a result, the mortality of malaria in Vietnam dropped dramatically and the outcome was highly praised by the Vietnamese government. Having approved the ACTs invented by Prof Li Guoqiao, WHO decides that ACTs must be used for global malaria control in the future. Prof Li has contributed tremendously to the promotion of artemisinin worldwide.

His interpretations over P.falciparum by letters and pictures were gathered and recorded into "malariology" which is published in 1988 and edited by some experts of WHO together. The intracutaneous blood smear method was added into the medical textbook of Oxford University in England (1987edition);His published academic thesis became the important reference for ACTS, and one of them which published in English magazine "Lancet" has been quoted for more than 160 times in international academic publications, which cast lots of influence on international academy. Since 1987,he has been invited to all kinds of international academic conferences, including WHO Malaria Chemotherapy Conference, the 11th,12th,13th,14th and 15th International Tropical Medicine and Malaria Conference,the Fourth Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Conference. The report of research thesis on Chinese clinical ACTS drugs and cerebral malaria got the important and high appraisement both in and out of China.

In 1986, Professor Li was awarded the "Certificate of Outstanding Contribution For Expert of Middle-aged Group" and he was the one in the first group of experts enjoying the state subsidiary. In the same year he got the "State Labor Medal". In 1987, He was titled the "State Labor Exemplar". In 1993, he was elected the deputy to the eighth National People's Congress. In 2000 he was awarded the "Baiqiuen Medal" by the Ministry of personnel,Ministry of Health and State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of People's Republic of China.

Professor Li Guoqiao

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Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs)

Prof. Li Guoqiao, tutor of PhDs, famous doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangdong Province and expert on tropical medicine; currently holds the posts of Member of the Standing Committee, China Medical Association for Tropical Medicine and Parasitology; Editorial Member of Chinese Journal of Infectious Diseases; Consultant on Malaria, Western Pacific Region, WHO.

Prof. Li Guoqiao, one of the principal inventors of artemisinin and its derivatives, has made great contribution to the research and development (R&D) of artemisinin derivatives and its successful access to the global market. He is also the director of clinical studies on artemisinin and its derivatives, and primarily affirmed the advantages of artemisinin, such as quick action, no drug resistance and low toxicity in treatment of falciparum malaria. He primarily succeeded in using artemisinin derivatives to save the lives of severe patients suffering cerebral malaria, etc. He also discovered and verified efficacy of artemisinin to gametocyte of P. falciparum. The 7-day regimen of artemisinin derivatives recommended by Prof. Li Guoqiao was fixed as the standard regimen by WHO. In 1991, Prof. Li Guoqiao was invited to Vietnam where he helped to supervise the treatment of severe malaria with artemisinin. The Vietnamese government adopted his suggestion on how to use artemisinin to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by severe malaria. Therefore, the mortality of malaria in Vietnam dropped dramatically. Prof. Li Guoqiao has been awarded prizes, by the central government and the provincial government, such as the "National Prize for Invention", "National Science & Technology Progress Award" and other awards of science & technology granted by National Committee of Education of China, Committee of Science of Guangdong Province and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine etc. Prof. Li Guoqiao was admired as "Father of Artemisinin" by Prof. Sornchai Looareesuwan, President of International Association of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, in praise of his peerless achievements in R&D of artemisinin and malaria control in the world.

The cure rate of cerebral malaria reaches 92.8% after adopting Prof. Li Guoqiao's integrated method of traditional medicine plus western medicine. This cure rate is a new milestone in the history of roll back malaria. Lots of his academic theories were written in Malariology and other textbooks published by Oxford University, and lots of his papers became important references and had great impacts worldwide.

He is highly respected for his devotion to science. He made himself infected with parasites in order to prove his theory that twice fever would be evoked during a schizogenesis period of P.falciparum. In order to advocate the use of artemisinin in the tropical developing countries, he traveled backwards and forwards between rural areas in Southeast Asia and went to many African countries on invitation to give academic lectures and demonstrate how to treat malaria with artemisinin. He was conferred the honor of "National Model Worker" by State Council of P. R. China, "Young and Middle-Aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions" by Ministry of Personnel, "Bethune Medal" by Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of Health.

Considering the high price and the long regimen(7-day) of monotherapy of artemisinin, Prof. Li Guoqiao strived to resolve these problems by developing artemisinin-based combination therapies(ACTs). His achievements in recent years are as follows:

1. He succeeded in combining the medicine of short half life (DHA) with those of long half life (PQP) and developed the 4th generation of artemisinin-based combination which has a lot of advantages such as short and simple regimen, high cure rate, low toxicity, high quality, and low cost. This combination is superior to other artemisinin-based combinations and keeps China at the advanced place in the R&D of artemisinin combinations.

2. The single drug of artemisinin is not easily accepted by the public health sectors because of its long regimen and high price. By developing artemisinin-based combination, and making it enclosed in the technical guidance of WHO, Prof. Li Guoqiao gradually stimulated WHO to switch its malaria control strategy to the adoption of artemisinin-based combinations. The 1st generation of artemisinin-based combination, well known as CV8, was developed in 1997 and became the first-line antimalarial drug in Vietnam. CV8 is the first artemisinin-based combination that has ever been applied as the first-line antimalarial drug in the world.

3. WHO has paid great attention on the R&D of serials of artemisinin-based combination developed by Prof. Li Guoqiao. In 2000, Prof. Li Guoqiao was invited to attend the WHO TDR meeting held in Thailand and had a lecture on the R&D of dihydroartemisinin combination. A Technical Non-disclosure Agreement was signed between WHO and Prof. Li Guoqiao in October, 2000 to encourage the further development of artemisinin-based combination. Extraordinarily, the 4th generation of artemisinin-based combination (Artequick) developed by Prof. Li Guoqiao integrates advantages of existing antimalarials. Falciparum malaria can be cured in 24 hours by two administrations of Artequick. In 2004, Artequick was applied and promoted in an pilot program of malaria control in Kampong Speu Province with a population of 750,000, Cambodia . The outcome of the application of Artequick in 2004 showed that parasite carriage rate in children in this district of malaria transmission reduced from 57.7% to 12.5%. It is no doubt a significantly important achievement in the history of malaria control. If Artequick and this successful malaria control strategy are promoted in Africa where malaria has been a major social-economic burden and health-care headache, it is promising to eradicate malaria in Africa within the measurable future.