Novartis announced the trial success of its new antimalarial drug, giving new hope to also tackle the increasing drug resistance.

“Novartis today announced positive results from KALUMA, a Phase III study for a new malaria treatment KLU156 (ganaplacide/lumefantrine, or GanLum). The novel non-artemisinin antimalarial, which was developed with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), met the study’s primary endpoint of non-inferiority to the current standard of care,” mentioned the company.

As per Novartis, the trial studied 1,688 adults and children across 34 sites in 12 African countries, with GanLum given as a sachet of granules once a day for three days.

The findings of the drug trial come amid the urgency to address the growing threat of antimalarial drug resistance.

“GanLum could represent the biggest advance in malaria treatment for decades, with high efficacy against multiple forms of the parasite as well as the ability to kill mutant strains that are showing signs of resistance to current medicines,” said Dr Abdoulaye Djimdé, Professor of Parasitology and Mycology at the University of Science, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Mali.

About GanLum:

GanLum is a combination of two compounds, attacking the malaria parasite on multiple fronts: ganaplacide, a novel compound with an entirely new mechanism of action, and a new once-daily formulation of existing antimalarial lumefantrine, a longer-acting treatment.

It was also informed that Novartis plans to seek regulatory approvals from health authorities for GanLum as soon as possible.