ENGINEERINGNET.EU - Eurartesim, the first artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) approved by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria, is being prepared for roll-out in several countries.
The drug, that was developed collaboratively by Sigma in Italy and the not-for-profit research foundation Medicines for Malaria Venture, is now ready for delivery to Cambodia, the first malaria endemic country to place an order for this newly approved treatment.
Professor Trevor Jones of the Sigma-Tau Group Board of Directors commented: "Eurartesim represents a major innovation in the fight against the malaria. We are proud to announce that we continue to work towards achieving registration and distribution of the drug in malaria-endemic countries where thousands of people die each year from this disease. We are also ensuring its availability in Europe.”
Although priority areas remain malaria-endemic countries, with marketing authorization from the EMA, Sigma Tau is planning to roll-out Eurartesim across Europe, for use both by travellers to malariaendemic countries and for imported cases of malaria in the case of returning travellers.
The drug is already available in pharmacies in France, UK, Germany, Belgium and Portugal, where the number of cases have been the highest in Europe.
Eurartesim was selected as the Medicines for Malaria Venture Project of the Year 2011, in recognition of its important contribution to the universe of quality-assured efficacious medicines forn curing malaria.
BACKGROUND
The World Health Organization’s standard treatment guidelines recommend DHA-PQP as a highly effective ACT in curing uncomplicated malaria. In early June, Sigma Tau submitted Eurartesim for prequalification by the World Health Organization, a process highly regarded by donors, and malariaendemic countries, as an important measure of quality and efficacy of new drugs. In addition, Sigma Tau is about to submit the drug for registration in key African countries, e.g., Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana and others.
