This intervention could provide three months of protection from malaria parasite species
The first long-acting injectable (LAI) for malaria prevention has been administered to volunteers in a clinical trial for drug manufacturer Quotient Sciences and nonprofit Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).
“This trial brings us closer to our goal of offering a long-lasting, affordable solution for malaria prevention,” said vice president of experimental medicine and clinical pharmacology at MMV, Dr Stephan Chalon.
The trial, conducted in Nottingham, UK, is evaluating the safety and tolerability of the injectable MMV371 at different dosages in adults.
MMV371 is a derivative of atovaquone, which is already approved as part of atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone), a medicine used by travellers to malaria-endemic areas.
The aim is to find a fixed-dose combination of MMV371 and a suitable partner drug, which reduces the likelihood of inducing resistant strains of malaria parasites.
If approved, the product could provide three months of protection against infection from all malaria parasite species, including the two most common strains, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest form of malaria.
“We are pleased to support MMV with the clinical development of the antimalarial drug MMV371,” said medical director at Quotient Sciences Dr Nand Singh.
“The potential to help protect against P. vivax and P. falciparum strains and help save human lives is something that we are proud to be part of. This project will provide the scientific evidence for the potential development of long-acting injectable anti- malarial treatment.”
The drug could also work against asymptomatic malaria. This is important because those with no symptoms are unlikely to seek treatment or even be aware that they are transmitting the disease to others.
It would also be possible to complement existing interventions such as vaccines, intermittent preventative treatment of malaria in pregnancy, or seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SCM), which is an oral intervention mostly used by children under five years of age.
The drug would also be useful for regions where SMC campaigns cannot be used due to parasite resistance to current drugs.
Affordability is a requirement for the LAI, which is intended for all age groups, but especially young and school-aged children, who are the most at risk of infection and death.
Should the study have a positive result, clinical trials in malaria-endemic countries will likely being in 2026.
Another compound in MMV’s pipeline, MMV055, is another potential candidate for a possible intervention, and is expected to enter clinical development in 2025.
According to the World Health Organization, in 2022, there were 249 million cases of malaria and 608,000 malaria-related deaths worldwide, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 95% of these numbers.
