Malaria remains one of the biggest global public health challenges. It kills a young child every two minutes, more than any other infectious disease.

Malaria parasites, of which Plasmodium falciparum is the most widespread and lethal, are transmitted by mosquitoes and have a complex life cycle. Malaria symptoms occur once the parasite's asexual stages begin replicating inside red blood cells. However, these asexual forms must transform into male and female stages called gametocytes in order to infect the mosquitoes that spread the disease.