Novartis/WHO sign malaria drug deal

Novartis has agreed with the World Health Organization to provide itsmalaria drug Coartem (co-artemether) to the WHO at cost, for use by public-sector health agencies in developing countries and organizations approved by governments to provide health care. The company first announced plans for the agreement at its annual general meeting (Marketletter April 2).

At the signing, WHO director general Gro Harlem Brundtland noted that Coartem is still too expensive to become an affordable drug for all who need it. It will go mainly to countries where drug-resistant malaria is a particular problem and, where resistance to currently-used single drugs is starting to emerge, it will be introduced initially as a second-line treatment for patients who have not responded to initial treatment. In countries where there is widespread resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, serious consideration should be given to introducing Coartem as a first-line treatment, she said.

Meantime, the Word Health Assembly (Marketletter May 21), noting that one-third of humanity still lacks access to essential drugs, passed a resolution urging Dr Brundtland to "stimulate the development of drugs for diseases whose burden lies predominantly in poor countries" and "enhance efforts to study and report on existing and future health implications of international trade agreements." The resolution also noted the need for systems for voluntary monitoring of drug prices and reporting of global drug prices, with a view to improving equity in access to essential drugs in health systems.