Rolling back malaria
In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other organizations, Novartis is providing the pioneering anti-malarial medicine Coartem® on a non-profit basis for public-sector use in developing countries where the disease is endemic. Funding for countries to purchase Coartem is channeled through The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria at no cost to endemic countries.
To date, Novartis has provided 216 million treatments of Coartem, helping to save the lives of an estimated 550 000 people suffering from malaria.
“Effective drugs are available now, but solving the problem of malaria is much more than just a question of drug availability. Malaria-endemic countries are facing a lack of physicians and nurses; the lack of an efficient distribution system and other preventive steps, such as treated bednets against unnecessary infection. Governments, health ministries, international organizations and industry all have roles to play in addressing and resolving this challenge.”
Dr. Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO, Novartis
In April 2008, Novartis announced a 20% average reduction in the price of Coartem tablets, our state-of-the-art artemisinin-based combination treatment (ACT) for malaria. To ensure a dependable supply and meet rising demand for Coartem, Novartis has invested heavily to expand production in China and the United States. Increased efficiency at these production sites made the price reduction possible.
The price reduction – to USD 0.37 for children’s doses – will increase access to Coartem for millions of malaria patients, especially children in low-income regions of Africa. Coartem is well-tolerated and highly effective, providing cure rates of up to 95% even in areas of multi-drug resistance. Combining two or more malaria drugs has the potential to prevent or delay development of resistance to the disease.
Focusing on children in Africa, the group most vulnerable to malaria, Novartis has developed a more convenient formulation of Coartem as a powder that can be dissolved in milk, water or other liquids. The new dispersible formulation promises to make dosing more reliable than the current practice of crushing tablets for use by children. And a cherry flavor developed for the dispersible formulation helps mask the bitter taste Coartem shares with most other ACTs.
In December 2008, Swiss health authorities approved the new pediatric formulation of Coartem. The dispersible formulation is a joint development by Novartis and Medicines for Malaria Venture, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to the development of affordable new antimalarials.
Visit the World Health Organization webite
Visit the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) website
Visit the Global Fund to Fight AIDS website
Read about how Coartem is gaining momentum in Africa