Continuing development in partnership
Coartem® Dispersible: responding to an unmet medical need
The majority of malaria deaths are in children11 but until recently there were no antimalarials especially formulated for this critical group.
Antimalarial tablets can be crushed and mixed with food or water to make it easier for infants and small children to take, however children may spit out the crushed tablets and consequently receive a suboptimal dose. In response to this, Novartis, working in partnership with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), developed a dispersible formulation of Coartem® specifically tailored to the needs of children. Coartem® Dispersible is as efficacious as the crushed tablet formulation2, with a similar safety profile. It is sweet tasting, easy to administer2 and affordable. Coartem® Dispersible is the first dispersible artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) developed for children with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria.
The sweetened dispersible formulation of Coartem® has been developed for easy administration to children
Researching the next generation of malaria drugs
The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) is working with the Wellcome Trust, Medicines for Malaria Venture and the Singapore Economic Development Board in a $20 million collaboration to investigate novel antimalarial drugs. Managed by the NITD, the programme involves research at several institutions including the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and the Swiss Tropical Institute. Set up in 2006, the partnership will investigate existing compounds that have already shown antimalarial activity and explore novel compounds.
