Coartem^® /Riamet^®

Malaria treatment with Coartem^® /Riamet^®

From artemether to Coartem^®

Extracts from sweet wormwood, Artemisia annua, have been used for treating fevers in traditional Chinese medicine for some 2000 years, under the name of Qinghaosu. In 1970, Chinese scientists isolated the active component, artemisinin, and developed it for the treatment of malaria. Artemether – a derivative of artemisinin – was further developed by Ciba Geigy (now part of Novartis) with the synthetic antimalarial – lumefantrine (formerly known as benflumetol) – as coartemether.

Developing coartemether for use worldwide

Coartemether was developed during the early 1980s by researchers at the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences in the People’s Republic of China. It was registered for use in China as an antimalarial in 1992. Subsequently, Ciba Geigy, along with Chinese partners, further developed the formulation for worldwide registration. Following clinical trials, regulatory approval was granted in 1998. Unlike free combinations of artemisinins, coartemether has undergone extensive preclinical and clinical studies conducted according to the standards of Good Clinical Practice. Moreover, coartemether is produced under Good Manufacturing Practice conditions.

Coartemether - a highly effective fixed combination

Each coartemether tablet contains artemether (20 mg), a derivative of artemisinin, and lumefantrine (120 mg), a highly lipophilic aryl amino alcohol. Lumefantrine has a much longer elimination half-life (several days) than artemether, and is associated with a low recrudescence rate, but has a slower onset of action. However, when used together, the complementary properties of artemether with its fast onset of action and lumefantrine with its long duration of action and high cure rate result in a highly effective combination.

*Recrudescence occurs when parasites survive in red blood cells after a brief check (e.g., after failed or incomplete drug treatment) and cause the reappearance of the disease.

Coartem^® is an oral formulation. Each light yellow uncoated tablet contains a fixed combination of artemether and lumefantrine in a 1:6 ratio.