SHANGHAI, April 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- World Malaria Day is marked each
year on April 25. World Health
Organization (WHO) gave as the theme for World Malaria Day 2024
Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable
world. WHO stated that malaria not only continues to
directly endanger health and cost lives, but it also perpetuates a
vicious cycle of inequity. People living in the most vulnerable
situations including pregnant women and children under 5 years of
age continue to be disproportionately impacted.
Artemisinin medicines developed with China's scientific research efforts have
become a ticket for China's
innovative medicines to go global. According to the WHO World
Malaria Report 2023, globally in 2022, there were an estimated 249
million malaria cases and 608,000 malaria deaths. Sub-Saharan
Africa accounted for more than 95% of the global malaria cases and
deaths. Globally, an estimated 11.7 million malaria deaths were
averted in the period 2000-2022. Among them, the average malaria
mortality rate (number of deaths per 100,000 population at risk) in
Africa decreased from 0.14% per
100,000 population to 0.055%, from 142.6 per 100,000 population in
2020 to 55.5 in 2022. The widespread use of artemisinin medicines
is one of the key success factors. Several global multi-center
phase III clinical studies and real-world data have shown that
artesunate injection is effective in reducing malaria mortality
rate.
Self-developed Artemisinin medicines covering from prevention
to severe disease treatment
As a leading global R&D and production enterprise of
anti-malaria drugs, anti-malaria drugs produced under the R&D
and innovation of Fosun Pharma cover malaria prevention, general
malaria treatment and severe malaria treatment. A total of 33
products in the anti-malaria series were approved by WHO
pre-qualification (WHO PQ), which have made significant
contribution to malaria prevention and treatment in countries and
regions such as Africa.
In 2010, Artesun®, an artesunate for injection independently
developed and manufactured by Fosun Pharma, was approved by WHO PQ.
Since 2011, it has been recommended by WHO as a first-line drug for
the treatment of severe malaria in children and adults. At the same
time, Fosun Pharma is also a supplier of anti-malaria drugs of the
Global Fund, UNICEF, WHO and African governments. By the end of
2023, Fosun Pharma has supplied over 340 million doses of
artesunate for injection across the world, treating more than 68
million severe malaria patients worldwide.
Meanwhile, Fosun Pharma went deep into the remote areas of
African villages and meet the needs of clinicians through
continuous innovation. Through process optimization, it has
independently developed and launched the second generation of
artesunate injection (trade name: Argesun®), which is the first
one-step preparation passing the WHO PQ in the world. The
preparation time of the drug was reduced from 3 minutes to 1
minute, which can save the time for treating patients with severe
malaria. Meanwhile, the concentration of Argesun® was standardized
for intravenous and intramuscular injections, which makes it more
convenient and safer for clinical purposes.
Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are recognized by
WHO as the best available treatment. However, in recent years, drug
resistance to these therapies has also begun to emerge in
Plasmodium falciparum, which is becoming a major threat to malaria
control. The global multicenter Phase III clinical trial project
led by Fosun Pharma for a triple artemisinin combination drug
(Artemether-Lumefantrine-Amodiaquine fixed-dose formulation)
against malaria in Africa and
Southeast Asia has also received
attention from all parties, and the Japan-based Global Health Innovative
Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) announced in December 2023 that it will invest approximately
US$3.3 million (approximately
500 million yen[1]), to accelerate the development
and commercialization of this new drug. This drug candidate should
have a significant public health benefit as it is expected to play
an important role in the fight against artemisinin partial
resistance (ART-R) which is now observed widely in the Greater
Mekong Subregion (GMS) of Southeast
Asia[2] and to
some extent in several African countries, including Rwanda and Uganda.
Further improving the accessibility of second generation of
Artesunate for injection to benefit remote areas of Africa
From April 21 to 27, the 8th
Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African Malaria
Conference was held in Kigali-Rwanda. As one of the main sponsors of
the conference, Fosun Pharma showcased its full range of
antimalarial products and successfully hosted the academic
symposium "Improving antimalarial treatment for severe P.
falciparum malaria" on April
23. The symposium introduced the recent trends in the global
and particularly African burden of severe malaria and the latest
treatment and clinical management strategies to over 300 malaria
researchers, clinicians, malaria control officials, and NGO
representatives from Africa and
around the world.
The session was co-chaired by Professor Olugbenga A Mokuolu from
Nigeria (Co-Chair of RBM Case
Management Working Group; Strategic Adviser on Malaria Elimination
to the Honorable Minister of Health Nigeria) and Professor Marielle
Bouyou Akotet from the Université des Sciences de la Santé
Gabon.
Professor Arjen Dondorp and
Professor Joel Tarning from the
University of Oxford, and Dr. Samwel
Gesase from the National Institute for Medical Research in
Tanzania, respectively, presented
the important contributions of injectable artesunate in the
treatment of severe malaria patients from the epidemiological,
clinical pharmacological, and pharmacoeconomic perspectives. They
also highlighted the clinical advantages of Fosun Pharma's
second-generation of artesunate injection with one-step
preparation in the management of severe malaria. The 1.5 hours
scientific session was ended by an introduction of the
post-discharge malaria chemoprevention, PDMC by Professor Kamija
Phiri from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences Malawi.
The attendees highly appreciated the academic professionalism of
Fosun Pharma's symposium on severe malaria and recognized Fosun
Pharma's commitment to affordable innovation in bringing a new
generation of artesunate injection with one-step
preparation to Africa. The
experts agreed that "artesunate injection is currently the most
effective drug for the treatment of severe malaria. The new
generation of artesunate injection with one-step preparation will
further enhance the convenience of clinical use and reduce the
clinical cost of severe malaria treatment, benefiting critically
ill children with malaria in remote areas of Africa where medical conditions are poor."
From treatment to prevention, effectively reducing the
incidence of severe malaria in children
According to the WHO, children under 5 years old are still the
most vulnerable population to malaria infection. in 2022, an
estimated 4 out of 5 malaria-related deaths in the African Region
were among children under 5 years of age. Inequities in access to
education and financial resources further exacerbates risk:
children under 5 years of age from the poorest households in
sub-Saharan Africa are 5 times more likely to be infected with
malaria than those from the wealthiest households.
To improve this situation, Fosun Pharma, in collaboration with
the National Malaria Control Program in Africa, continued to carry out the "Promoting
Malaria Prevention Knowledge among Children Program" in 14
malaria-prone countries in Africa,
targeting at the community level, in order to raise the awareness
of malaria prevention among the local population in Africa, and to help reduce the incidence rate
of malaria and interrupt the transmission of malaria in the
community. In August 2018, Fosun
Pharma's SPAQ-CO® Disp (co-packed
sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine dispersible tablets and amodiaquine
dispersible tablets), for the prevention of malaria in children,
was approved by WHO PQ . By the end of 2023, more than 258 million
children in Africa had benefited
from the "Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Program", for which
SPAQ-CO® Disp is used as the core drug, effectively
reducing the incidence of malaria in children under five years old
in Africa.
Promoting the localization of pharmaceutical production and
helping to enhance the healthcare capacity of developing
countries
Based in China and with a
global presence, Fosun Pharma has always been committed to
providing high-quality medical solutions to patients worldwide. It
actively expands its business in emerging markets, including
Africa, India and Southeast
Asia, to improve the accessibility of medicines in
developing countries. By the end of 2023, Fosun Pharma had
established five regional distribution centers in emerging markets.
The overseas commercialization team consists of approximately 1,000
people, dedicated to enhancing the accessibility of pharmaceutical
products.
To achieve localized pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply in
Africa and to enhance the
accessibility and affordability of pharmaceutical and healthcare
products in the African region, Fosun Pharma's Cote d'Ivoire park project was initiated in
November 2022. The project is planned
to be carried out in three phases, with the first phase expected to
be completed in 2024. Upon completion of the project, the
production capacity of the park will be expanded to 5 billion
tablets per year and include a warehouse with a storage capacity of
10,000 pallets, which is expected to bring nearly 1,000 job
opportunities to the Greater Bassam area and effectively promote
the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Cote d'Ivoire.
About Fosun Pharma
Founded in 1994, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co.,
Ltd.* ("Fosun Pharma"; stock code: 600196. SH, 02196. HK) is a
global innovation-driven pharmaceutical and healthcare industry
group. Fosun Pharma directly operates businesses including
pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical diagnosis, and healthcare
services. As a shareholder of Sinopharm Co., Ltd., Fosun Pharma
expands its areas in the pharmaceutical distribution and retail
business.
Fosun Pharma is patient-centered and clinical needs-oriented.
The company continuously enriches its innovative product pipeline
through independent research and development, cooperative
development, license-in, and in-depth incubation. Fosun Pharma
improves the research and clinical development capabilities of FIC
(First-in-class) and BIC (Best-in-class) new drugs as well as
accelerates the R&D and launch of innovative technologies and
products. Fosun Pharma's innovative products mainly covered core
therapeutic areas such as tumors (solid tumors and hematologic
tumors), immunology, central nervous system, and chronic diseases
(liver disease/metabolism/kidney disease).
Guided by the 4IN strategy (Innovation, Internationalization,
Intelligentization, and Integration), Fosun Pharma will uphold the
development model of "Innovation Transformation, Integrated
Operation and Steady Growth", with the mission of creating
shareholder values through strengthening its independent R&D
and external cooperation and enriching its product pipelines, as
well as promoting the global networks and enhancing operational
efficiency. Fosun Pharma will actively promote the digital and
physical business layout in the pharmaceutical and healthcare
industry and is committed to becoming a first-class enterprise in
the global pharmaceutical and healthcare markets.
For more information, please visit our official website:
www.fosunpharma.com
[1]. USD1 =
JPY149.52, the approximate exchange rate on October 31,
2023.
|
[2]. GMS comprises Cambodia, Lao
People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand,
and the People's Republic of China (PRC, specifically Yunnan
Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region).
|
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SOURCE Fosun Pharma