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Novartis to invest $100m in new malaria treatments

pharmafile | April 17, 2018 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development Novartis, WHO, malaria, pharma 

Novartis has revealed it is to invest $100 million into the research and development of new treatments for malaria over the next five years, another crucial step in the World Health Organization’s goal to reduce child mortality related to the disease by 90% by 2030.

The investment will cover the development of Novartis’ malaria pipeline through to 2023, including the completion of a global clinical trial programme for its antimalarial candidates KAF156 and KAE609, both of which are currently at Phase 2.

Development of new treatments will in part be aimed at combating the rise of resistance to artemisinin and other antimalarials. Crucially, Novartis has also committed to an “equitable” pricing strategy to ensure vulnerable, at-risk patients have access to these new therapies as they become available.

Incidence of the mosquito-borne disease increased by five million in 2016 compared to the previous year to reach 216 million cases, according to the World Health Organization, killing 445,000; 90% of these deaths were in Africa. Southeast Asia, the western Pacific, the eastern Mediterranean and the Americas are also viewed as areas at risk.

“Resistance to treatment presents the biggest threat to the incredible progress that has been made in the fight against malaria in the past 20 years,” commented Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan. “We cannot afford to wait; this is why we are committing to advance the research and development of next-generation treatments. At the same time, we need to work to ensure that our innovation reaches those most in need, even those in the most remote locations.”

Matt Fellows

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