Novartis confirms commitment to malaria elimination, with $100 million investment

Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) today confirmed its commitment to the elimination of malaria, pledging to invest more than $100 million over five year to advance research and development of next-generation treatments to combat emerging resistance to artemisinin and other currently used antimalarials.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the 7th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Conference and the Malaria Summit of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. Further, the company releases new African research on progress and remaining challenges toward the 2030 malaria elimination targets, together with Elimination 8 and the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust program.

Novartis will also implement an equitable pricing strategy to maximize patient access in malaria-endemic countries when these new treatments become available. In order to contribute to the World Health Organization’s target of reducing malaria-related child mortality by at least 90% by 2030, Novartis will further help expand access to pediatric antimalarials and implement healthcare system strengthening programs in four sub-Saharan countries.