Country's second-biggest drug maker Cipla, which slashed prices of generic AIDS drugs internationally, is soon to champion another global move to contain malaria. |
The company has entered into a development and supply agreement with Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), a global non-profit organisation, for a new anti-malarial combination drug. The drug, a new fixed dose combination of artesunate and mefloquine, will be manufactured by Cipla using the technology developed by DNDi. |
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"The agreement is for development and commercialisation of a new fixed dose combination of artesunate and mefloquine (AS+MQ) indicated for the treatment of uncomplicated Falciparum malaria. |
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The product technology is coming from DNDi. Cipla will manufacture and make the product available in southeast Asia and other parts of the world at affordable pre-agreed prices," Amar Lulla, joint managing director, Cipla, said. |
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He declined to comment on the details of the agreement and the volume of business that is expected. The drug to be launched by Cipla has come out of a DNDi initiative called "FACT Project" established in 2002. |
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Global agencies such as WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, and Health NGO Medicines Sans Frontiers are part of the DNDi initiative. |
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Pharmaceutical companies Sanofi Aventis and Farmanguinhos are also part of the initiative. |
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