In the last few years, Guilin Pharma has conducted different innovative campaigns and programs in malaria prevention and control.

As the innovator of injectable artesunate (Artesun), which is the WHO recommended first line treatment of severe malaria since 2011, we have a multi-lateral strategy to introduce and scale-up this important new life-saving drug in malaria endemic regions so as to save more lives.

To improve the drug supply and safety, we built a new production line for Artesun to guarantee its market supply and invested in phase IV post marketing clinical studies and pharmacovigilance with notable organizations including, the DHART study with Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) on late post-treatment anemia and haemolysis of parenteral artesunate, the MATIAS study with Medicinesfor Malaria Venture (MMV) and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) on pharmacological economy of injectable artesunate, and the setup and maintenance of a global pharmacovigilance system with Quintiles.

Because children have the highest risk of malaria, we are also investing in the development of more child-friendly anti-malarial products. For example, we have just finalized the development of the dispersible formulation of SPAQ-CO for the seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) project.

Making quality drugs available is not enough. We also work on capacity building. In 2014, Guilin Pharma launched a malaria education program called eCME to help to improve local knowledge of malaria through online web-lectures by world-class malaria scientists. In 2015, the company collaborated with the local NMCPs in Sub-Saharan Africa to launch an educational film about malaria prevention in Africa, targeting the mass population, especially primary school students.

Tell us about an innovative partnership you have been involved with and how this has had an impact on your efforts in the malaria space.

Guilin Pharma partnered with the WHO, MMV and malaria Consortium on the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Project since its launch in 2013. It covers 6 countries : Nigeria, Senegal, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The program is an effective, cost-efficient, safe, and feasible malaria intervention issued by the WHO for the prevention of malaria among children less than 5 years of age in areas with highly seasonal malaria transmission. Guilin Pharma developed its child-friendly product SPAQ-CO for this special project.

What are the biggest challenges to increasing access to anti-malarial resources and products and how should they be addressed?

Malaria is a public health problem mostly in underdeveloped areas. The biggest challenge to send anti-malarial resources and products to people suffering malaria is to improve the accessibility. Our suggestions are:

• Optimize drug storage conditions & supply chain management: We suggest the public sector to think about better storage conditions of procured antimalarial products and to simplify its long and complicated procurement process. A cooperation with the local government and other local third parties might help to improve the supply chain from qualified suppliers’ warehouses to patients’ hands.
• Kick-off substandard anti-malarial products from the market: We appeal the public sector organizations to cooperate closely with national drug administration departments to screen the local malaria market, together with innovative public-private sector interactions such as AMFm, and replace those substandard anti-malarials and monotherapies with more quality guaranteed and affordable recommended anti-malarials. Actions like this will not only benefit people under risk of malaria but also slow down the development of anti-malarial drug resistance.

TANA Netting FZCO entered the fight against malaria in 2013 with the aim to deliver cost- effective, quality malaria prevention tools. We believe that the malaria elimination end game can only be achieved with locally adaptive strategies, which essentially means a campaign should simultaneously be based on a choice of tools that are applicable to the local setting and with an inclusion of local stakeholders. Our key product is the LLIN DawaPlus® 2.0. We have launched several product development initiatives with the aim to better support an adaptive approach. These initiatives target both people who may not be easily protected by the traditional LLIN, because they rest and sleep outdoors.

Tell us about an innovative partnership you have been involved with and how this has had an impact on your efforts in the malaria space.

TANA Netting is currently supporting the development and marketing of cost effective hammocks with ITG for the greater Mekong sub region to extend effective malaria prevention for forest dwelling and working populations.

What are the biggest challenges to increasing access to anti-malarial resources and products and how should they be addressed?

The key challenge on the road to elimination remains the increased involvement and leverage of locally, nationally, and regionally available resources in malaria endemic countries. There is no single approach to this topic but we believe one important aspect is to involve people and communities not just as beneficiaries but empowered entities with an interest that goes beyond receiving tools provided from the donor community. For example, when it is feasible, manufacturing of these tools should be localized to increase a sense of participation and ownership in the fight against malaria.