Novartis to develop new antimalarial

The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation join forces to further develop the antimalarial KAF156.

The compound belongs to a novel class of antimalarial molecules –imidazolepiperazines (IZPs). These IZPs are active against the blood and liver stages of the most pathogenic malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum as well as Plasmodium vivax. Currently entering Phase IIb clinical trials, hopes are that IZPs could address the resistance of some parasite populations against current antimalarials that has emerged in five countries of the Great Mekong Sub-region. KAF156 was developed with the help of the Wellcome Trust, Medicines for Malaria Venture and the Singapore Economic Development Board in a joint research programme with the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

"With a child dying from malaria every two minutes and the threat of drug resistance growing year-on-year, there is a real urgency to step up global efforts to combat this disease," said Joseph Jimenez. The CEO of Novartis values the partnership with MMV as “essential for the development of next generation antimalarials and accelerating efforts to eradicate this deadly disease."

David Reddy, CEO of MMV, is “delighted to extend our partnership with Novartis in the development of this exciting candidate antimalarial medicine with the potential to tackle drug resistance and improve patient compliance.”