Novartis Delivers 1 Billion Courses of Antimalarial Treatments

I would like to extend my hearty congratulations to Novartis for reaching an incredible milestone of delivering 1 billion courses of antimalarial treatments, inclusive of 430 million pediatric treatments since 1999. Novartis, alongside Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), have been long-standing partners in the fight against malaria. They have delivered on several malaria treatments and medicines including artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the standard care for treatment of P. falciparum malaria, the parasite responsible for 99% of the malaria cases in sub-Saharan Africa and half of the those in Asia.  The successful development and delivery of ACTs have played a significant role in cutting the number of malaria deaths in half over the last 20 years. And as a true reflection of Novartis’s commitment to saving lives, they have provided more than 90% of ACTs without cost to malaria-endemic countries.

I remain impressed with Novartis’s dedication and continued investment in research and development. Building on its successful use of ACTs for malaria treatment, Novartis, with MMV led research consortium PAMAfrica is currently testing an ACT formula for use in infants weighing less than five kilograms. As we know, children under five years old continue to be the most vulnerable population to malaria, accounting for two-thirds of all malaria-related deaths. An effective ACT treatment for infants would mean thousands more could be saved, a substantial win for the malaria community and the world.

In addition, Novartis has committed over 100 million USD in funding for research and development to address the urgent threat of insecticide resistance to current medicines and treatments. Novartis has multiple novel antimalarial compounds in the pipeline and currently leads five malaria development programs globally. This is truly commendable leadership from Novartis as a member of the research and development community.