Suriname to Get New Malaria Drug

Suriname is set to become the first South American country to begin using a new antimalarial drug produced by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis under the brand name Coartem.

The drug is being provided at cost to malaria-endemic countries under an agreement between Novartis and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Coartem is a particularly fast-acting antimalarial drug that kills parasites within 48 hours and has a reported cure rate of 95 percent. The drug has fewer side effects than other antimalarial treatments and is tolerated well by adults as well as young children. Most important, no resistance to Coartem has been reported, in contrast to front-line malaria treatments.

Coartem was developed through a joint effort between Novartis and the Institute for Microbiology and Epidemiology in Beijing. The drug combines lumefantrine, a synthetic substance, with artemeter, a traditional Chinese remedy derived from the Artemisia annua plant (sweet wormwood).

Suriname participated in efficacy trials for Coartem. Along with Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela, Suriname is part of a network formed to study resistance to antimalarial drugs, known by its Spanish acronym RAVREDA. Coordinated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), RAVREDA is funded through the Amazon Malaria Initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Guyana is also expected to receive shipments of Coartem early this year. The cost of the drug under the WHO agreement is $2.50 per adult treatment.