Novartis begins trial of new antimalarial drug

London

NOVARTIS is taking aim at drug-resistant malaria - a growing global problem - by launching clinical trials of the first new antimalarial medicine for many years in nine countries across Africa and Asia.

The Swiss drugmaker, which is working on the mid-stage Phase IIb trial programme with the group Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), said on Monday that it believed that its drug KAF156 could be a "game-changer".