Artemisia annua is a small shrub native to China from which artemisinin and its derivatives are produced. These are currently the most effective drugs used in the treatment of malaria, a disease which kills millions of people each year. However, there is recent evidence of signs of resistance to artemisinin. In a BBC Radio 4 interview, Chris Whitty, DFID’s Head of Research, discusses artemisinin resistance and Colin Hill from a Defra-funded consortium looks at the potential for artemisinin production in the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lszhg#synopsis