EDCTPScientific Results
Results of two studies offer new hope for preventing malaria in pregnant women with HIV
Malaria during pregnancy can cause serious maternal and newborn health issues, especially in women living with HIV. The World Health Organization recommends daily doses of the antibiotic co-trimoxazole to prevent malaria in pregnant women living with HIV residing in areas with high malaria transmission. However, its efficacy in sub–Saharan Africa is threatened because malaria parasites are becoming increasingly resistant to the drug. Two recent publications by EDCTP-funded studies IMPROVE-2 and MAMAH show that the addition of the antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine (DP) to daily co-trimoxazole substantially reduces the risk of malaria infection in pregnancy.
EMA adopts positive opinion of treatments on neglected infectious diseases from EDCTP-funded studies
Products for two neglected infectious diseases from EDCTP-funded studies received positive scientific opinion from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Arpraziquantel, developed by the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium, received positive scientific opinion from the EMA for the treatment of schistosomiasis in preschool-aged children. The EMA has also adopted a positive scientific opinion of fexinidazole, developed by the HAT-r-ACC Consortium, for treating b. rhodesiense sleeping sickness, a rare but extremely lethal form of this parasitic disease found in Eastern and Southern Africa.
LEARN MORE
Arpraziquantel
Fexinidazole
