Cipla to launch combination anti-malarial drug in Africa, South-East Asian countries

Mumbai: Drug-maker Cipla is set to launch a fixed-dose combination of Artesunate (AS) and Mefloquine (MQ) medicines for the treatment of falciparum malaria.

The two-in-one combination targeting drug-resistant falciparum malaria has been developed by Cipla in collaboration with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi).

The combination therapy simplifies a patient's treatment to a single dose of one or two tablets for three days — ensuring that the patient adheres to the treatment regime and the medicines are taken in correct proportions.

In 2010, about 3.3 billion people — almost half of the world's population — were at risk of malaria. And every year, this leads to about 216 million malaria cases, and an estimated 6,55 000 deaths, said the World Health Organisation (WHO), adding that people living in the poorest countries are the most vulnerable.

Cipla's announcement on the combination drug comes on the eve of World Malaria Day on April 25th.

The combination drug awaits WHO approval, Cipla Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Y.K. Hamied, told Business Line. Cipla will sell the drug in African and the South-East Asian markets, he said, adding that it has already been purchased in Malaysia. It has also got regulatory approvals in India and will be available at the retail chemist shops by mid-May, he added.

The drug will be bought by private and other purchasing agencies and governments through the tender-process of sourcing, where medicines are bought at “humanitarian” prices, Dr Hamied said.

Cipla, he pointed out, is a leading supplier of not just anti-retroviral (anti-AIDS) drugs, but anti-malarials, as well. Last year, Cipla supplied 50 million anti-malarial doses to Africa, he said. Also in the pipeline, in collaboration with the DNDi, are a couple of anti-retrovirals, he added. The drugs for the fixed-dose combination are being manufactured at Cipla's manufacturing unit in Patalganga.

Innovative partnership
The combination anti-malarial drug was developed through non-exclusive deals that DNDi had with Cipla and the Brazilian government-owned pharmaceutical company Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz, Dr Hamied said, adding that no royalty payments were involved.

Through an innovative partnership supported and facilitated by DNDi in 2008, Cipla entered into an agreement with the Brazilian pharmaceutical company to introduce the new fixed-dose combination in Asian and African countries.