First new type of malaria treatment in decades shows promise against drug resistance
Summary
Novartis’s ganaplacide–lumefantrine (GanLum) produced promising clinical-trial results presented at ASTMH: it cured 97.4% of participants compared with 94% for the standard artemisinin-based therapy, artemether–lumefantrine. The trial involved 1,688 adults and children across 12 sub-Saharan African countries. GanLum cleared parasites with a mutation linked to artemisinin resistance faster (about 47 hours) than the standard treatment (about 71 hours). Novartis says it is submitting GanLum for regulatory approval and estimates availability within 12–18 months. If approved, GanLum would be the first new class of malaria drug in over 25 years.
Key Points
- Ganaplacide–lumefantrine (GanLum) cured 97.4% of trial participants versus 94% for the current standard therapy.
- The trial included 1,688 people (adults and children) across 12 sub-Saharan African countries.
- GanLum cleared parasites carrying an artemisinin-resistance-associated mutation faster (≈47 hours) than the standard treatment (≈71 hours).
- Developed by Novartis with support from the Medicines for Malaria Venture, GanLum targets a non-artemisinin pathway — offering an alternative should artemisinin-based therapies fail.
- Novartis is preparing regulatory submissions; the company estimates the drug could be available within 12–18 months if approved.
Why should I read this?
Short and blunt: this could be a proper game-changer. Artemisinin resistance has been creeping into regions that bear the heaviest malaria burden — so a new, fast-acting non-artemisinin option might stop us being caught off guard. You’ve got the headline result here without slogging through the whole paper.
Context and relevance
Malaria infects hundreds of millions and causes nearly 600,000 deaths annually, mostly in young children. Most frontline treatments rely on artemisinin; partial resistance has appeared in southeast Asia and has been detected in parts of Africa. While resistance hasn’t yet caused widespread treatment failure everywhere, the risk is real. Having a new drug class like GanLum provides an alternative treatment pathway and could preserve gains made in malaria control. Faster parasite clearance for resistant strains suggests GanLum might limit transmission and reduce the chance of treatment failure as resistance spreads.