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ASMQ in a Nutshell: The First Malaria Treatment Made in Brazil for Latin America and South East Asia

Artesunate (AS) and mefloquine (MQ) is a new fixed dose combination to be effective in the field.

  • The WHO has recommended the use of this artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) for uncomplicated P.falciparum malaria in Asia and Latin America.
  • A simple regimen for children and adults is as easy as 1-2-3, requiring only once-daily administration of 1 or 2 tablets, according to age, over 3 days.
  • Packaging is adapted for easy use and permits the longest shelf life (3 years) of any fixed dose combination for malaria under a tropical climate.
  • Availability as a public good is guaranteed at a target price of USD 2.5 for the full adult treatment.
  • The combination of AS and MQ has been used in the field for 16 years and thus shown to be highly effective in multi-drug resistant areas.
  • Preliminary results at 1 year in a large ongoing intervention study in the Amazon Basin showed a 70% drop in reported cases.
  • Brazil's Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz has agreed to the principle of South-South technology transfer to India's Cipla.
  • Development cost for DNDi is EUR 7.8 million, funded by EU, French, Spanish, Netherlands and UK government grants as well as by MSF, with an important in-kind contribution from Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz and others.
  • As of April 2008, the treatment is available in Brazil and will be available in Latin America and South East Asia over the course of 2008 and 2009.

For more information, please consult: www.actwithasmq.org
Published by Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative - 15 Chemin Louis-Dunant 1202 Geneva Switzerland - Photo credits: DNDi unless otherwise stated - Editor: Sadia Kaenzig - Tel: +41 22 906 9230 - Fax: +41 22 906 9231 - www.dndi.org