Singapore, April 26 -- Novartis has announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified Coartem(R) (artemether-lumefantrine) Baby, the first and only antimalarial developed specifically for newborns and young infants weighing from 2 to 5 kilograms.

The decision is a key step towards enabling widespread access through public sector procurement. Coartem Baby is also known as Riamet(R) Baby in some countries and was developed in collaboration with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).

"This new formulation of artemether-lumefantrine represents an innovation as there are no antimalarial medicines specifically developed for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in children from 2 to 5 kilograms body weight," said Dr Daniel Ng...