Novartis cuts price of malaria drug Coartem 20%

Swiss drug major Novartis has made an average 20% reduction in the price of Coartem (artemether/lumefantrine 20 mg/120 mg) tablets, the state-of-the-art artemisinin-based combination treatment for malaria. Starting April 25, which is World Malaria Day, this price cut will increase access to Coartem for millions of malaria patients, especially children in low income regions of Africa.

Malaria affects 300 to 500 million people each year and causes nearly a million deaths annually. Its toll is heaviest among young children and adolescents in Africa, where it is estimated that a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds.

In a unique public-private collaboration with international organizations, Novartis has provided Coartem to the public sector without profit. Since 2001, Novartis has supplied more than 160 million treatments to malaria-endemic countries. To ensure a dependable supply of Coartem and to meet rising demand, Novartis has invested to expand production capacity at state-of-the-art facilities in China and the USA. The recent efficiency increases in producing Coartem mean that the public sector price can now be reduced by an average of 20% compared to the 2007 price.