Last Updated: 04/08/2023
Analysing the quality and authenticity of ACT drugs
Objectives
This study assesses the quality of drugs deriving from artemisinin in six countries through surveilling the frequency of poor quality malaria drugs as well as laboratory and field based studies. The study aim is to maximise the efforts of malaria control globally by analysing samples from several countries and working closely with national health ministries.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), United Kingdom
The World Health Organization recommends artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as the first-line treatment for malaria. This consists of combining two drugs: artemisinin (which derives from the artemisia plant) and a partner drug (one of existing antimalarials). If taken alone rather than combined, they are considered monotherapies and are less effective. Governments have purchased millions of these expensive drugs over the past decade. However, some evidence from South East Asia in 2002 suggests that there are cases of fake antimalarials. This is often reported in the news and spreads alarm. The quality of drugs is extremely important, as poor quality drugs (which contain the wrong amounts of artemisinin) may contribute to the development of drug resistance and patients who are not treated properly are at risk of dying. With this project the team aim to understand whether there are reasons to be concerned about the quality and authenticity of ACT drugs in Africa. The research team has used and assessed methodologies to understand how to best collect drug samples. This will enable an accurate assessment of the prevalence of poor quality drugs in a country.
Sep 2008 — Feb 2016
$2.52M
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