Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is a well-tolerated and reliable medicine used to prevent malaria in pregnant women and infants. Reports on malaria from the World Health Organization note that Africa records the highest cases and deaths. The African continent has been completely reliant on imported SP to manage the disease. The UCL invention, therefore, responds to the need for local production of quality antimalarial medicines for use in Africa.

The World Health Organization pre-qualification is a service to assess the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicinal products. Although SP is a generally effective, and affordable medicine used to fight malaria, adequate delivery and scale-up of these interventions are hampered in part by inadequate and unstable supply. Quality assurance of UCL's SP product, Wiwal® opens a route for procurement by global scale-up partners that will improve access and help strengthen Africa's ability to combat endemic diseases.

“Unitaid welcomes the certification of UCL to produce this quality-assured antimalarial medicine in Africa, where about 95% of all illness and death from malaria occurs. Reinforcing local production of medicines where they are needed most is critical to building stronger and more resilient health responses," said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid.

According to Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), the increased supply of SP is crucial to the long-term success of Unitaid's malaria chemoprevention strategy. This includes nearly US$ 160 million invested to optimize and scale up delivery of SP through seasonal delivery and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnant women and infants. Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) is a preventive treatment strategy for children under five living in areas of the Sahel and sub-Sahel at greatest risk of seasonal malaria. It involves administering monthly doses of SP to children during peak malaria season. The first evaluation to determine the effectiveness of SMC on a large scale attracted a Unitaid investment of US$ 68 million. The strategy contributed to a reduction in malaria infections in children by more than 85%. According to the latest World Malaria Report, 33 million children were reached with Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention in 2020.

"UCL is committed to supplying the African continent with quality medicines that are most needed by the people who live here. We are not only the first pharmaceutical company to receive pre-qualification of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in Africa, but one of only five manufacturers in Africa to have received this quality certification for any product. We're filling a much-needed gap," said Perviz Dhanani, Founder and Managing Director of UCL

The WHO African Region is the hardest hit by the global malaria burden. In 2020, the region was home to 95% of all malaria cases and 96% of all deaths. In 2020, six countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (27%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12%), Uganda (5%), Mozambique (4%), Angola (3%) and Burkina Faso (3%). About 80% of all malaria deaths in the region are among children under five years of age. It is against this backdrop that the World Health Organization welcomes Researchers and manufacturers from the African continent to be at the forefront of efforts to defeat the disease.

SOURCE
Medicines for Malaria Venture