New drug effective against malaria

Researchers have developed a new drug that is effective against non-severe cases of malaria, according to results from an FDA-supervised clinical trial. The results are significant as public health experts have long warned that the parasite responsible for most malaria cases, Plasmodium falciparum, is developing resistance to widely used treatments. New medications are needed to build up secondary defenses against drug-resistant strains of the parasite.

The results are significant as public health experts have long warned that the parasite responsible for most malaria cases, Plasmodium falciparum, is developing resistance to widely used treatments. New medications are needed to build up secondary defenses against drug-resistant strains of the parasite.

The drug, called AQ-13, was able to clear the parasite responsible for the disease within a week, matching the effectiveness of the most widely used treatment regimen.

"The clinical trial results are extraordinarily encouraging," said Dr. Donald Krogstad, senior author and professor of tropical medicine at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. "Compared to the current first-line recommendation for treatment of malaria, the new drug comes out very well."

See:

Ousmane A Koita, Lansana Sangaré, Haiyan D Miller, Aliou Sissako, Moctar Coulibaly, Trevor A Thompson, Saharé Fongoro, Youssouf Diarra, Mamadou Ba, Ababacar Maiga, Boubakar Diallo, David M Mushatt, Frances J Mather, Jeffrey G Shaffer, Asif H Anwar, Donald J Krogstad. AQ-13, an investigational antimalarial, versus artemether plus lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria: a randomised, phase 2, non-inferiority clinical trial. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30365-1

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle