ASAAP clinical study of malaria treatment for children has started

A large clinical study evaluating a triple plus combination of antimalarials for children has started in Ghana. The study is coordinated by Dr. Oumou Maiga-Ascofare of the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. It is conducted in collaboration with six research institutions in Benin, Burkina Faso, France, Gabon, Germany and Mali. EDCTP is investing EUR 7.6 million in the project, which has additional funding from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).

While the current generation of artemisinin-based combination therapies is still effective, there is a growing risk of drug-resistance. New combination treatments with three or more compounds should be developed to delay or prevent resistance. The ASAAP study will assess the efficacy of artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) in combination with atovaquone–proguanil (AP), a triple-therapy for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in African children.

Dr. Oumou Maiga-Ascofare: “ASAQ therapy is already well established in Africa. The drug is currently still effective and has few side effects. We absolutely must prevent the spread of resistance to this proven remedy so that we can continue using ASAQ for many more years.”

This project was funded under the 2017 EDCTP call for proposals ‘Clinical trials to reduce health inequities in pregnant women, newborns and children – 2017′.  EDCTP project identifier: RIA2017MC-2022

This announcement is based on the press release by the Bernard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine on 12 March 2019