Approved by FDA as a First-Ever Radical, Single Dose Cure, Drug Can Help Accelerate Elimination in the Americas and Asia
Seattle, July 20, 2018 - A new drug called Krintafel (tafenoquine) approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will contribute greatly towards eliminating malaria, particularly in Asia and the Americas. Developed by GSK and Medicines for Malaria Venture with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Krintafel is the first new treatment for P. vivax malaria in more than 60 years.
“This new drug is an important breakthrough, and making it available quickly will help reduce malaria cases globally, especially in Asia and the Americas,” Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More, said. “To save millions of lives from malaria and ultimately end this disease, we need novel tools like Krintafel, and to continue investing in a pipeline of innovation.”
Krintafel is a safe, single-dose, “radical cure” treatment for people aged 16 years and older that prevents the relapse of P. vivax malaria, the second most common strain of the parasite. Estimated to cause around 8.5 million infections every year, vivax especially affects people living in some of the world’s most densely populated regions, including in India, which has the highest burden of malaria outside of Africa.
“India is the proving ground for humanity’s ambition to end diseases; It was with smallpox, and polio, and now it will be for malaria.,” said Edlund. “As Malaria No More works to support India’s goal to eliminate malaria by 2030, having Krintafel available could make a huge difference.”
Latin America, which reduced malaria cases by more than 61 percent from 2000-2015, also could benefit from the new drug.
Before Krintafel, there was only one approved treatment for vivax malaria called primaquine. While clinically effective, primaquine requires at least several doses, which often means several visits to a health clinic. This makes completing a full course of the treatment challenging in many places where access to health care is difficult or non-existent.
Krintafel is the result of four decades of investment in research and development, which started in 1978 by scientists at the U.S. Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. It was then brought forward by GSK in collaboration with the not-for-profit drug research partnership, Medicines for Malaria Venture.
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For more information or interview requests, contact Michal Fishman at +1 504-220-2792 or Michal.Fishman@MalariaNoMore.org
About Malaria No More
Malaria No More envisions a world where no one dies from a mosquito bite. More than a decade into our mission, our work has contributed to historic progress toward this goal. Now, we’re mobilizing the political commitment, funding, and innovation required to achieve what would be one of the greatest humanitarian accomplishments – ending malaria within our generation. Malaria No More has offices in the United States, Cameroon, Kenya and India and affiliates in Japan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.malarianomore.org
