Certain NMTs are therapeutic targets for development of drugs against bacterial infections. Myristoylation has been shown to be necessary for the survival of a number of disease-causing fungi, among them C. albicans and C. neoformans. In addition to prokaryotic bacteria, the NMTs of numerous disease-causing eukaryotic organisms have been identified as drug targets as well. Proper NMT functioning in the protozoa Leishmania major and Leishmania donovani (leishmaniasis), Trypanosoma brucei (African sleeping sickness), and P. falciparum (malaria) is necessary for survival of the parasites. Inhibitors of these organisms are under current investigation. A pyrazole sulfonamide inhibitor has been identified that selectively binds T. brucei, competing for the peptide binding site, thus inhibiting enzymatic activity and eliminating the parasite from the bloodstream of mice with African sleeping sickness.