Via The Guardian Nigeria: Artequick promises 24-hr treatment for malaria, elimination in 20 years. Excerpt:
Chinese researchers say with Artequick, a fixed-dose combination of artemisinin and piperaquine, malaria can be effectively treated within 24 hours and possibly eliminated from human population in 20 years.
Clinical trails of Artequick presented, to the media, last week in Lagos by the General Manager of Artepharm Company Limited, China, Dr. Pan Longhua, concluded that Artequick is an ideal drug for the treatment of malaria, especially for drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum.
Artepharm is represented in Nigeria by Trusted Pharmacy and Chemicals West African Limited.
Results of multi-center clinical trails in China, Viet Nam, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Comoros published in Malaria Journal showed that Artequick controls the malaria symptoms rapidly. Fever Clearance Time (FCT) and Parasite Clearance Time (PCT) are 16 to 30 hours and 36 to 60 hours in that order.
Longhua said: “Artequick stops the parasite development within two hours and more than 95 per cent parasites are killed within 24 hours after the drug administration. Due to its quick action, Artequick could reduce the occurrence of severe malaria cases and also the malaria mortality.
“Artequick provides a short regimen: Two-day regimen, two tablets as the initial dose and another two tablets after 24 hours.
“Artequick has high efficacy even in multi-drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum epidemic areas. The 28-day cure rate is above 97 per cent. After two-month observation, it is found that the relapse rate of Artequick in treatment of Plasmodium vivax malaria is two per cent. The combination of artemisinin and piperaquine delays the development of drug resistance by Plasmodium falciparum.
“Artemisinin is toxic to the early embryo according to the studies in mice, therefore Artequick is contraindicated for pregnant women during the first trimester.”
