Pfizer and MMV aim to expand fight against malaria, providing drugs for pregnant women

Almost coinciding with World Malaria Day on April 25, today, global drugs behemoth Pfizer and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) entered into an agreement for the development, access and delivery of a fixed-dose combination treatment consisting of azithromycin dihydrate (AZ) and chloroquine phosphate (CQ) for the intermittent preventive treatment of P. falciparum malaria in pregnancy (IPTp). There is currently an unmet need for new treatment options and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that some 30 million pregnant women are at risk for malaria in endemic areas in Africa each year.

A product development team (PDT) comprised of representatives from Pfizer, MMV and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) will coordinate the trials and an external independent Data Monitoring Committee of malaria experts will oversee them.

Under the agreement, Pfizer plans to seek marketing authorization in selected malaria-endemic African countries where, with MMV, it will seek to introduce the use of this potential therapy to improve pregnancy outcomes and neonatal survival. 'Pfizer believes that an affordable price for public sector sales of the medicine, in endemic countries, if approved, is an important step towards increasing access and safe intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women,' stated Jean-Michel Halfon, president and general manager of Pfizer's Emerging Markets Business Unit.