The Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) has inked agreements with Indian drugmakers Cipla and Strides Arcolab to develop rectal artesunate for pre-referral treatment of children with severe malaria.

The aim is to have a rectal artesunate product pre-qualified by the World Health Organisation by 2016.

Established under an MMV-led project funded by UNITAID, the collaboration aims to develop a rectal artesunate product for submission to the World Health Organisation for prequalification.

The United-Nations supported Unitaid is an international drug purchase facility. It invests to increase availability to better and more affordable products to prevent, test and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries.

MMV is a product development partnership involved with anti-malarial drug research and development. Its mission is to reduce the burden of malaria in disease-endemic countries by discovering, developing and facilitating delivery of new, effective and affordable anti-malarial drugs.

About 10 years ago, MMV had entered into a tie-up with Ranbaxy Laboratories for the development of another anti-malarial drug. But that alliance came unstuck a few years later.

Latest agreement

Cipla and Strides will each develop a product building on the clinical studies led by TDR, the special programme for research and training in tropical diseases led by the WHO.

“This is a significant milestone in our project to improve severe malaria outcomes,” MMV chief executive Dr David Reddy said in a press note.  “We have agreed a clear pathway with these two manufacturers to bring this product to an internationally acceptable quality standard. This will help make the product available to more patients, buying more time and saving more lives,” he said.

Cipla is a major supplier of anti-malarial products worldwide and has designed many innovative medicines for children in developing countries, Subhanu Saxena, Cipla Managing Director and Global Chief Executive said.

An estimated 5.6 million cases of severe malaria each year result in around 6.27 lakh deaths, mostly of children under five years. Severe malaria is the result of inadequately treated uncomplicated malaria and can quickly lead to death, the note said.

 

comment COMMENT NOW