In 1961, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized that strains of Plasmodium are resistant to chloroquine, which consequently stimulated R&D programs aimed at finding new synthetic drugs to replace this substance in the fight against malaria. The article analyzes the process of scientific research into the production of antimalarial drugs from the 1960s to the 1980s in both the Brazilian and international contexts, especially the USA and China. The dynamics specific to each country and the interests tied to questions of international relations engendered points of agreement and of disagreement, with WHO playing a key role.
malaria; resistance; chloroquine; artemisinin; antimalarial drugs
