Cherry flavored pill may tackle malaria in children
POSTED February 21, 2009 - 19:44 | POSTED BY Neharika Sabharwal
Last edited by Shikha Patial on February 21, 2009 - 22:18
Senegal, February 20: Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has launched an anti malaria cherry flavored pill to make it easier for children to stick to the treatment.
The current drugs for the fever are unpleasant in texture and taste. The sweet flavored tablet has been developed to overcome this difficulty. It compares with its Coartem malaria commercial tablets of the same combination with a trifle less chance of infants and kids spitting it out.
The new formulation will facilitate administration in infants and children and also help maintain effectiveness of the treatment. The child friendly pill dissolves in water and has a nice taste like fruit juice. It replicates the original tablet but is “Dispersible, small, cherry-flavored and dissolves easily.”
"If our children accept this new form (of the malaria drug) then it will mark a major step forward," Senegalese Health Minister Safiatou Thiam Sy declared at Friday's launch in the West African country.
According to health experts, there is no vaccine for malaria but the disease is curable if treated promptly.
The problem with current drugs is that many young children cannot swallow whole tablets and crushing them can weaken the medicine. The crushed pills also taste bitter when mixed with water. Health experts say the dispersible pill could enhance and promote better outcomes from the treatment. It would also delay the development of drug resistant strains of the disease.
Hans Rietveld, director of marketing for Novartis' sweet pill, said that until now, mothers have faced Herculean task to persuade the children to swallow the bitter pills. All the tricks of mixing it with sugar in order to suppress the unpleasant taste were useless. Most of the kids spat it out.
The children's version of Coartem is partially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is being unveiled in many African countries this week, which includes Senegal. It shall be available at a reduced rate of 30 cents for the entire course of the treatment, a price that would be soft on the pockets of most Africans.
Malaria is one of the biggest killers with nearly 1 million falling prey to this vicious disease. The fever has a strong hold in African countries with a large number of casualties, mainly children. According to the WHO every 30 seconds a child succumbs to malaria in Africa.
