by David Musyoka
NAIROBI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Medical scientists have launched a patient trial for KAF156, a next-generation antimalarial compound with the potential to treat drug-resistant strains of the malaria parasite in Africa.
Global healthcare firms, Novatis and Medicines for Malaria Ventre (MMV) said in a joint statement on Monday that the trial will test the efficacy of KAF156 in combination with a new, improved formulation of the existing antimalarial lumefantrine.
"To build on the gains made against malaria since the turn of the century, we need new medicines that are effective across all types of resistance patterns and geographies, and that are easy to administer, especially to children," said David Reddy, CEO of MMV.
Reddy said with the phase IIb trial of KAF156-lumefantrine now underway, the MMV-Novartis partnership is drawing closer to the exciting prospect of such a new medicine that would be a powerful tool to fight the disease.
KAF156 is first compound from the imidazolopiperazines, a new class of anti-malarials, to enter Phase IIb combination studies.
In a Phase IIa proof-of-concept trial, the compound was fast-acting and potent across multiple stages of the parasite's lifecycle, rapidly clearing both P. falciparum and P. vivax parasites.
The two firms said next-generation anti-malarials are urgently needed to tackle rising parasite resistance to current therapies.
Emergence of resistance to both artemisinin and many partner drugs has been reported in Asia, and reduced sensitivity to artemisinin has also been sporadically reported in Africa.
The first trial centre is operational in Mali and will be followed by sixteen additional centres across a total of nine countries in Africa and Asia over the next few months by Novartis and MMV.
Compound has potential to be a game-changer in malaria elimination, rapidly clearing malaria infection, including resistant strains, and blocking parasite transmission.
Vas Narasimhan, Global Head of Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis said the new milestone underscores the company's long-standing commitment to the fight against malaria.
"With nearly half of the world's population at risk, malaria continues to be a major public health challenge. Developing new antimalarial medicines is critical to achieving malaria elimination. Innovative science continues to be our best weapon against the disease," Narasimhan said.
The phase IIb study will test multiple dosing combinations and dosing schedules of KAF156 and lumefantrine, including the feasibility of a single dose therapy in adults, adolescents and children.
As children are the most vulnerable to malaria, the goal is to include them in the clinical trial as quickly as possible, following safety review of the data generated in adults, thereby potentially accelerating the development of a pediatric formulation.
The partnership between MMV and Novartis builds on a long-standing successful collaboration in antimalarial drug development, which led to the launch in 2009 of the first high-quality artemisinin combination therapy for children.
