Kaduna (Nigeria) – Novartis antimalarial medicine Coartem® 80/480mg has received World Health Organization (WHO) pre qualification – each of this tablet is equivalent to four tablets of Coartem® 20/120mg, which has been in the market.
The manufacturing pharmaceutical company claims that this new dosage strength*, has the potential to improve malaria management.
WHO prequalification of Coartem® 80/480mg now allows for broad-scale public sector procurement, possibly providing access to the treatment to as many as 25 million malaria sufferers across .
“Over the last ten years, Novartis has worked with partners to make Coartem® treatments available to patients in the public sector and through donor-funded private sector programs,” said Joseph Jimenez, CEO of Novartis.
He added, “WHO prequalification of Coartem® 80/480mg aligns with the longstanding work of the Novartis Malaria Initiative and confirms the company’s status as a leading innovator in malaria treatment.”
Although preventable and treatable, malaria was responsible for approximately 584,000 deaths in 2013 (World Health Organization,
The reduction in the number of tablets associated with Coartem® 80/480mg could increase convenience and overcome the challenges associated with therapies that require taking a large number of pills, therefore improving adherence to treatment and clinical effectiveness.
“We welcome the arrival of high-strength Coartem® 80/480mg said Dr Nafo Traoré, Executive Director of Roll Back Malaria Partnership.
“By reducing the number of pills that adults have to take, we hope to see better adherence to treatment regimens, helping us to combat this preventable and treatable disease which still kills hundreds of thousands of people.” He said
Coartem® 80/480mg, which received Swissmedic approval in November 2013, was launched in the private sector in Nigeria in late 2013 and has since been launched in more than ten African countries.
Today, more than 700 million treatments, including 250 million Coartem® Dispersible antimalarials, have been delivered without profit to malaria-endemic countries.
Source: Africa Press Organisation
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