New Malaria Drug Aimed at Children

A new, low-cost anti-malarial drug has been launched in Paris, aimed particularly at the thousands of children who are affected by malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. The medicine is a combination of two drugs, that have proved successful in past studies. Scientists believe it is easy to administer. This will help to make it easier to complete treatment and overcome the risk of building up a resistance to the disease. Malaria is responsible for killing up to three million people in the world annually. This is mostly in Africa. Each year, more than a million children in Africa die from malaria, while a further 3,000 children under five are affected each day in Africa.

Sanofi-Aventis, Europe's largest multi-national pharmaceutical company, has joined forces with a non-profict organization called Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI) in order to launch the drug ASAQ. The drug will be sold cheaply and will not be patented. This means that other companies will be able to produce it cheaply.

Advances in technology means that the new medicine is a "fixed-dose combination" of two drugs, consisting of artesunate and amodiqauine. These have already been proven to be very effective in the fight against malaria. Previous combinations of the drugs has meant patients have had to take up to six tablets a day over a period of five days. However, the course of treatment for the new drugs will consist of just two pills a day for three days for adults and one pill a day for three days for children. Experts believe this should help patients complete their treatment and overcome the risk of the parasite building up a resistance to the drugs.

Professor Wilfred Mbacham, a malaria expert for the national malaria control programme in Cameroon told the BBC World Service's Focus on Africa Programme: "By bringing in two medications that attack different aspects of the parasite you get to kill the parasite invariably. So if it's resistant to one, the other one is bound to take the parasite out of existence.Therefore this new fixed combination is about the right way to go, especially by reason of the fact that people will take them to completion and will be able to eliminate these resistant forms of parasite,"

There are some who argue that the anti-malarial drugs should be given out for free throughout Africa. However, Professor Mbacham disagrees. He said: "The argument is that maybe it's still not affordable by Africans but I think most Africans are rising up to the challenge. We want to be able to pay for the medications ourselves. Otherwise we become quite suspicious and worry why medication is given for free and it may not fly with the population very well."

This new drug should be widely available for distribution later this year. According to the BBC's Mike Lanchin, health experts believe that given the speed with which resistance to malaria drugs has spread across Africa, it may only end up being a short-term solution to the problem, rather than a long-term cure.

Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6407891.stm