Novartis Spokesperson Offers Reassurance About Effectiveness of Coartem for Malaria Treatment
Laura Daunis, a spokesperson for the pharmaceutical company Novartis, on Wednesday said that the company's malaria drug Coartem offers protection against malaria and minimizes the development of drug resistance, Panapress/Afriquenligne reports. Daunis said the combination of artemether and lumefantrine in Coartem helps to attack the malaria parasite in two ways. Artemether immediately attacks malaria parasites in the bloodstream, and lumefantrine remains in the body longer to eliminate any remaining parasites, she said.
Daunis' statements come after some health advocates recently expressed concern about a possible rise in resistance to artemisinin-based therapies, which are generally considered first-line treatments against malaria. Some researchers have questioned the long-term effectiveness of Coartem, and recent reports have identified malaria cases in Cambodia that demonstrate resistance to artemisinin, Panapress/Afriquenligne reports. In addition, some reports have found that artemisinin might take longer to eliminate malaria parasites from the bloodstream, which could indicate that the parasite is developing resistance to the compound. Daunis said that drug resistance could result from the use of artemisinin monotherapies but that the combination of compounds in Coartem help prevent the development of drug resistance. According to Daunis, Novartis also is working on new malaria treatments at its not-for-profit research arm Novartis Institute of Tropical Diseases (Panapress/Afriquenligne, 2/11).
