May & Baker unveils new anti-malarial medicine, Malact

Nigeria’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturer, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, has introduced a new anti-malarial medicine that promises to revolutionise malaria disease treatment in the country. The new drug, named Malact is a dihydroarteminsin-piperaquine combination-based formulation which ensures fast relief from malaria and guarantees better post treatment protection.

With  increasing  resistance  to  older  drugs,  the  World  Health  Organisation  (WHO)  years  back jettisoned  Chloroquine and  recommended  Artermisinin based  Combination  Therapies  (ACTs)  as first  line drug  for the  treatment of uncomplicated malaria.

However, most ACTs have since then shown    limitations    including    resistance    to    treatment. But    dihydroarteminsin-piperaquine combination,  the  newer artemisinin-based combination  therapy  has  shown  excellent  efficacy  in multiple  trials and  is  considered  the  most promising drug  currently  available  for  the treatment  of uncomplicated malaria.

The combination has a reliable efficacy which guarantees patient faster relief compared to other ACTs currently available in the market.  It also has better post treatment protection because of the piperaquine content that makes it possible for patients not to experience relapse for at least six weeks.

Malact, the new product from May & Baker, therefore prevents malaria for up to six weeks and prevents recrudescence of malaria. Other advantages of Malact include convenient dosing because it is taken once a day and this reduces the chances of dosage non-compliance.  It  does  not  require  to  be  taken  with  fatty  meals  by  the  patient  before  it  can  be absorbed.

At a media launch of the new anti-malaria product in Lagos, Mr Nnamdi  Okafor,  Managing Director/CEO of May & Baker said the introduction of Malact is part of the company’s efforts at  continually  confronting  the  malaria  scourge  by  providing  effective  and  affordable medicines for treatment of the disease. He stated further that Malact is the latest and most effective arsenal in the toolbox for fight against malaria. He said the goal of May & Baker is to continue to be the one-stop-shop for quality anti-malarials.

Mr Chukutem Chukuka, executive director, Pharma Sales& Marketing of May & Baker in his remark said “Malact has a reliable efficacy which guarantees patient faster relief compared to other  ACTs currently  available  in  the  market. It also  has better posttreatment protection because of the piperaquine content that makes it possible for patients not to experience relapse for at least six weeks.  Malact therefore prevents malaria for up to six weeks and prevents recrudescence of malaria.

May & Baker Nigeria Plc remains a key player in the anti-malarial market in Nigeria. It was the first company to introduce an antimalarial drug to Nigerians with its Nivaquine brand  of   chloroquine  sulphate  decades  ago.   When  the  WHO  discountenanced chloroquine as first line drug for the treatment of malaria, and recommended the ACTs, the  company  was  one  of  the  first  pharmaceutical  manufacturers  in  Nigeria  to  locally produce  ACTs  with  the  introduction  of  its  artemisinin  combination  therapy  (ACT) antimalarial drug “Artelum” which is a brand of artemether/lumefantrine in April 2009.

According to the World Health organization, Malaria remains a  major  global  health challenge with over 200 million cases annually in Africa. It is responsible for over100, 000 deaths    in    Nigeria    every    year. In    addition    to    loss    of    life, malaria places  an economic burden on African nations  that  is  estimated  to  be  worth  over  $12  billion  in direct cost and GDP loss annually.

The introduction of the more efficacious dihydroarteminsin-piperaquine  based  anti-malarial  drug  is  therefore  a  great  relief  that  promises  to  reduce malaria related mortality. May & Baker is Nigeria’s first pharmaceutical company with over 76 years’ experience of doing business in the country. It was among the few WHO-cGMP production facilities in Nigeria  that  was  certified  by  the  World  Health  Organisation  in  2014.  Its vision is to become a leading healthcare brand in sub -Saharan Africa.

Photo caption – Pharm Obinna Emeribe, Head of Marketing, Pharm Chukutem Chukuka, Executive Director, Pharma Sales & Marketing, Pharm Nnamdi Okafor, Managing Director/CEO and Pharm Yetunde Adigun, Head, Pharma Plant Operations, all of May & Baker Nigeria PLC at the Media Launch of Malact tablets, the company’s new anti.-malarial medicine in Lagos recently.

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