Combination pill to treat malaria pre-approved by WHO

"A malaria drug made by India's Cipla has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), an important step towards its roll-out across Asia, where millions of people are infected with the mosquito-borne disease every year," Reuters reports. "The drug, which has already been used to treat 18,000 adults in India, is intended as the first-line treatment in a number of South East Asian countries, Cipla and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative said in a joint statement on Wednesday," the news service writes (10/3). "The pre-qualified status means the drug meets WHO standards of quality, safety and efficacy, making it eligible for bulk procurement under programs that receive funding from international agencies like the United Nations Children's Fund and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria," Fox Business notes (Ahmed, 10/3). The pill is the first to offer a combination of drugs in one tablet, and it requires a single daily dose of one or two tablets over three days, according to a video report from Al Jazeera (10/3).