An article in the latest issue of The Lancet reveals that Pyramax, a new oral malaria treatment from South Korean drugmaker Shin Poong Pharmaceuticals, is just as effective as Novartis leading treatment Coartem. According to Reuters, Coartem is the current gold standard for people infected with the mosquito-borne disease. The two-in-one Novartis drug needs to be taken twice a day and requires a fatty diet for optimum absorption, whereas Pyramax is taken once daily.
This is a tremendous breakthrough, since malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people each year in underdeveloped countries, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. In impoverished regions where the infrastructure is unpredictable at best, it is a significant improvement to reduce the number of daily doses required.