[3] The antimalarial activity of the imidazolopiperazine compound class was initially discovered through a series of sensitive phenotypic antimalarial screens that were developed and run in 2007 and 2008 by a group of biologists[4] working at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and the Scripps Research Institute.

[10] Initial functional studies were performed with the closely related chemotype, GNF179[4] that differs from the clinical candidate by a single halogen.

[11] This drug is being developed with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation via their Medicine for Malaria Venture.

It will also be a part of the Novartis Malaria Initiative which has been providing 750 million treatments without producing any profit for the larger company.

[12] Ganaplacide is protected by the granted United States Patent 20130281403 held by the inventors, Arnab Chatterjee, Advait Nagle, Tao Wu, David Tully, and Kelli Kuhen, and filed June 7, 2013.