Coarsucam (artesunate/amodiaquine) / Sanofi, DNDi - LARVOL DELTA

Genomic profiling of drug resistance markers in Plasmodium falciparum samples from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2017) and Tanzania (2020-2021). (PubMed, J Antimicrob Chemother) - "No validated ART-R marker was detected, but partner-drug haplotype distributions reflected the first-line ACTs used in each country. Continued molecular surveillance is needed to track these signatures alongside the recent emergence of ART-R."

Journal • ABCB1

A ten-year retrospective review of antimalarial-induced dystonia at Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa. (PubMed, J Vector Borne Dis) - "The malaria medications (MM) associated with AID were Artesunate /Amodiaquine (AA) combination, Amodiaquine(AM), Chloroquine (CH), Artesunate/Piperiquine Phosphate, and Artesunate/Lumefantrine combination in 12, 7, 2,1 and 1 cases respectively. Presumptive malaria treatment and non-pharmaceutical dispensations should be discouraged. Recommended doses of AA should be weight based in order to prevent over-dosage and AID."

Journal • Retrospective data • CNS Disorders • Dystonia • Infectious Disease • Malaria • Movement Disorders • Pediatrics

3ACT: Triple Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy for Delaying Drug Resistance Development - a Randomized Clinical Trial (clinicaltrials.gov) - P2/3 | N=384 | Completed | Sponsor: Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences | Recruiting ➔ Completed

Trial completion • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine combination for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria after 16 years of its introduction into Ghana's antimalarial medicines policy. (PubMed, Malar J) - "AL has remained highly efficacious (> 90%) in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Ghana, even after 16 years of its formal introduction into the country's antimalarial medicines policy. Preserving this high efficacy through strategies such as the deliberate implementation of multiple first-line therapy (MFT) has become critical, particularly as lumefantrine is needed for the development of non-artemisinin combination therapies in response to the spread of artemisinin resistance. Trial Registration Pan African Clinical Trial Registry-PACTR202502791855505."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Slowing the spread of treatment failure to artemisinin-based combination therapies in Uganda. (PubMed, Nat Commun) - "Changing first-line therapy from artemether-lumefantrine (AL) to artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) is projected to reduce treatment failures by 34.7% to 38.3% (90% range) while a first-line policy change to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PPQ) is projected to reduce treatment failures by 10.0% to 12.9%. Deployment of the triple therapy artemether-lumefantrine-amodiaquine is projected to reduce treatment failures by ~42% if enacted immediately. Increased adoption of and coverage with ASAQ is projected to play a large near-term role in reducing malaria treatment failure counts in Uganda."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Malaria

COMBINATIONS OF STEM BARK POWDERS OF ENANTIA CHLORANTHA AND UVARIA CHAMAE SHOWED ANTIMALARIAL ACTIVITIES IN MICE. (PubMed, J Ethnopharmacol) - "Antimalarial activity was enhanced with combination of the powders while additive interaction was observed with the herb-drug combinations."

Journal • Preclinical • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Cross-border molecular epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum drug susceptibility: insights from the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border. (PubMed, Malar J) - "Our findings identified the presence of molecular markers associated with artemisinin partial resistance and reduced susceptibility to lumefantrine in northeastern DRC, along with evidence of cross-border parasite migration from Uganda. Given opposing selection pressures of lumefantrine and amodiaquine on pfmdr1 and pfcrt, alternative ACTs such as artesunate-amodiaquine may merit further evaluation. To sustain ACT efficacy, integrated genomic surveillance, clinical monitoring, and coordinated regional policy responses are essential."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Malaria • ABCB1

Efficacy and safety of artesunate+amodiaquine and artemether+lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in South Sudan. (ANZCTR) - P4 | N=440 | Completed | Sponsor: Ministry of Health

New P4 trial • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria among children 6-59 months in three sentinel sites of Sierra Leone, 2021-2022. (PubMed, Malar J) - "No validated or candidate Pfk13 mutations were detected, and while some Pfmdr1 and Pfcrt polymorphisms were observed, no clear pattern of association with treatment failure was evident. Therefore, our study provides evidence that AL and ASAQ remain efficacious for treatment of P. falciparum infection in Sierra Leone."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Malaria • ABCB1

Distribution of CYP2C8*2 and *3 in Western Kenya: alleles involved in the metabolism of artesunate amodiaquine used in the treatment of malaria (ESCMID Global 2026) - No abstract available

Infectious Disease • Malaria

Prevalence in Northern Angola of Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C8 Alleles Associated with Amodiaquine Decreased Metabolism. (PubMed, Am J Trop Med Hyg) - "Amodiaquine-artesunate is one of the recommended options by the Angolan National Malaria Control Program for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria and for malaria seasonal chemoprevention. We found an expected robust frequency of a very-low-activity allele, CYP2C8*2 (18.2%) but also the unusual presence of alleles CYP2C8*3 (1%) and CYP2C8*4 (0.5%). Together, these alleles were seen in a non-negligible group of Plasmodium falciparum malaria patients and children under amodiaquine-based therapies and prophylactic strategies."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Malaria • CYP2C8

OPTIMAH: OPTImizing Malaria And HIV Treatment in a Shifting Landscape in Africa (clinicaltrials.gov) - P4 | N=380 | Recruiting | Sponsor: Yale University | Not yet recruiting ➔ Recruiting

Enrollment open • Human Immunodeficiency Virus • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Health Systems Implementation and Molecular Surveillance of Multiple First-Line Treatments for Uncomplicated Malaria in Western Kenya (clinicaltrials.gov) - P=N/A | N=316 | Completed | Sponsor: Strathmore University

New trial • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Therapeutic efficacy of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and artesunate-pyronaridine combinations in the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Ghana, 2023. (PubMed, Front Public Health) - "Currently, artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ), artemetherlumefantrine (AL), and artesunate-pyronaridine (AP) are the first-line medicines for treating uncomplicated malaria whilst dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHAP) is the second-line medicine. We conclude that the therapeutic efficacy level of DHAP has remained high (>90%) since the baseline study in 2020/2021. Also, the baseline efficacy level of AP is high (>90%) warranting the use of both DHAP and AP in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in the country."

Journal • Hematological Disorders • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Polymeric microarray patches for transdermal delivery of amodiaquine and artesunate: A novel strategy against Plasmodium falciparum. (PubMed, Mater Today Bio) - "In a Plasmodium berghei-infected murine model, the combined MAP treatment reduced parasitaemia by 99.5 % within seven days, showing comparable efficacy to oral administration. These findings demonstrate that dissolving MAPs offer a minimally invasive, needle-free strategy for ACT delivery, with potential to enhance treatment adherence, reduce gastrointestinal side effects, and combat drug resistance, particularly in resource-limited malaria-endemic settings."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Comparative effects of antimalarial drugs on oxidative phosphorylation, mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. (PubMed, Toxicol Rep) - "Thirty-five Swiss-mice (18 ± 3 g) were infected intraperitoneally with chloroquine resistant (ANKA) strain of Plasmodium berghei and treated orally and once daily with (10 mg/kg) dose of Amodiaquine artesunate (AA), Artemether-Lemefantrine (AL), Sulfadoxine- pyrimethamine (SP) and Artesunate (ART), On day 6, animals were sacrificed and livers were removed. Significant down-regulation in the expressions of PINK 1 by SP, FUNDC1 by AA and AL, DNM1L by ART, PGC-1α by AA, AL, and ART, and prohibitins 1 and 2 by AA and AL similar to the infected control were observed. This study showed that host mitochondria respond differently to antimalarial drugs."

Journal • Preclinical • Infectious Disease • MFN2

Efficacy and safety of artesunate-amodiaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum in Eritrea in 2022 (ANZCTR) - P4 | N=352 | Completed | Sponsor: Ministry of Health

New P4 trial • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Spatio-temporal trends of artemisinin-based combination therapy efficacy from 2010 to 2024 in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (PubMed, BMC Infect Dis) - "While AS-AQ, DHA-PPQ, and AS-PY have maintained high efficacy over time in sub-Saharan Africa, there is a concern about the declining efficacy of AL in some West and East African countries. Our findings suggest that AS-PY could be a promising candidate for inclusion in first-line malaria treatments to address the declining efficacy of AL. Continuous monitoring of ACT efficacy, innovative and efficient control strategies are crucial to prevent the spread of antimalarial drug resistance."

Journal • Retrospective data • Review • Infectious Disease • Malaria

FD-TACT: A Study to Find Out if a Combination of 3 Medicines for the Treatment of Malaria Works as Well and is as Safe and Tolerable as Combinations of 2 Medicines (clinicaltrials.gov) - P3 | N=1680 | Recruiting | Sponsor: University of Oxford | Not yet recruiting ➔ Recruiting | Trial completion date: May 2025 ➔ Jul 2026 | Trial primary completion date: Nov 2024 ➔ Jul 2026

Enrollment open • Head-to-Head • Trial completion date • Trial primary completion date • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Effect of malaria chemoprevention for school-age children across transmission archetypes: a modelling study. (PubMed, Lancet Glob Health) - "Our model suggests that adding IPT of school-age children to current control tools could decrease malaria burden in this group and reduce P falciparum transmission."

Journal • Hematological Disorders • Infectious Disease • Malaria • FPR2

Efficacy and Safety of Artesunate + Amodiaquine and Artemether + Lumefantrine for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in Madagascar, 2020. (PubMed, Am J Trop Med Hyg) - "Of 727 samples successfully analyzed for pfK13, no mutation associated with artemisinin resistance was observed. The study results reveal that ASAQ and AL remain safe and efficacious for treating uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Madagascar."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Malaria • Pain

OPTIMAH: OPTImizing Malaria And HIV Treatment in a Shifting Landscape in Africa (clinicaltrials.gov) - P4 | N=380 | Not yet recruiting | Sponsor: Yale University | Trial completion date: Sep 2027 ➔ Dec 2027 | Initiation date: Sep 2025 ➔ Dec 2025 | Trial primary completion date: Sep 2027 ➔ Dec 2027

Trial completion date • Trial initiation date • Trial primary completion date • Human Immunodeficiency Virus • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Evidence from Genomic Surveillance Shows Imported Drug-Resistant Strains Threatening Malaria Elimination in São Tomé and Príncipe (ASTMH 2025) - "To evaluate if antimalarial drug resistance undermines eradication efforts in STP, we analyzed temporal trends (2010-2016) of resistance mutations in Plasmodium falciparum parasites to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ), and artesunate-lumefantrine (AL). However, declining AL sensitivity, despite limited local use, combined with genetic similarity of STP parasite samples to those from Central and West Africa, strongly suggests imported resistant parasite strains. These findings underscore the critical need for robust traveler monitoring and surveillance to prevent the introduction and dissemination of drug-resistant malaria, protecting and sustaining elimination efforts."

Late-breaking abstract • Infectious Disease • Malaria

Therapeutic Efficacy of Artemether-Lumefantrine combination in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in ten sentinel sites across Ghana (ASTMH 2025) - "In 2008, Artemether-Lumefantrine (AL) combination was added to Amodiaquine-Artesunate (ASAQ) combination as a second first-line artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for uncomplicated malaria in Ghana. None of the patients enrolled was parasitemic on Day-3. We conclude that AL remains efficacious in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Ghana."

Clinical • Late-breaking abstract • Infectious Disease • Malaria

The Role of Plasmodium falciparum Gametocytogenesis in the Spread of Resistance to Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapies (ASTMH 2025) - "In response, several countries replace current artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), often artemether-lumefantrine (AL), with triple ACTs, or introduce alternative treatments, to sustain drug efficacy. A late-stage gametocytocidal effect contains the spread of resistance only if it is sustained beyond the clearance of asexual parasites. These findings challenge current attempts to introduce artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) or dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHAPPQ) as alternatives to AL, unless combined with 8-aminiquinolines, which target both early- and late-stage gametocytes, since these treatments are associated with higher gametocytemia."

Combination therapy • Infectious Disease • Malaria