Scientists unveil new anti-malaria drug with ‘very high cure rate’
Scientists develop first anti-malaria drug in 25 years
- Scientists have developed GanLum, a new anti-malaria drug, the first in 25 years, which has shown a cure rate of over 97 per cent in trials.
- Developed by Novartis, the treatment works by disrupting the malaria parasite's internal protein transport system, which is crucial for its survival.
- GanLum was created to combat emerging resistance to existing anti-malaria treatments, and also has the potential to block disease transmission.
- A large clinical trial involved 1,700 adults and children across 34 sites in 12 Sub-Saharan African countries, with findings presented at a meeting in Toronto.
- Experts describe the drug as potentially “the biggest advance in malaria treatment for decades” due to its high efficacy against multiple forms of the parasite and resistant strains.