KEMRI Unveils New Drug to Reduce Malaria Rates for HIV Pregnant Women

By Samuel Ouma

Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) scientists, in partnership with their international peers, have launched a new drug for reducing malaria in HIV pregnant women.

The study christened IMPROVE-2 by researchers from Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in partnership with colleagues from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, and the Malawi University of Science suggests that the addition of the antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine to daily co-trimoxazole substantially reduces the risk of malaria in pregnancy.

The study included researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, USA.

The study was published in The Lancet, the world's leading clinical, public health, and global health information source.

“We celebrate these findings that propose additional arsenal against a disease that risks about 70 percent of our population, malaria in pregnancy can cause a host of serious health complications, including miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-term delivery and growth restriction of newborn babies, and co-infection with HIV increases doubles these risks,” said Prof. Elijah Songok, KEMRI Ag. Director General & CEO.

Researchers examined whether the combination of monthly dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and daily co-trimoxazole is more effective at preventing malaria infection in HIV-positive women than a monthly placebo plus daily co-trimoxazole. The trial included 904 women, who were assigned to each group at random.

The trial found that pregnant women who received the combination of monthly dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and daily co-trimoxazole had 68% less malaria during pregnancy compared to those who received only daily co-trimoxazole.

This study follows a series of trials coordinated by LSTM with collaborators like KEMRI to explore alternative options to prevent malaria in pregnant women without HIV.