World Malaria Day, celebrated annually on 25 April, aims to advance malaria control globally, and the theme of World Malaria Day 2022 is "Using Innovation to Reduce the Burden of Malaria Disease, Save Lives", and "Innovation" has become the key to the global fight against malaria.
In the 1940s, China reported about 30 million cases of malaria each year, and since August 2016, there has not been a single case of indigenous malaria in China, and China has made a significant achievement in the fight against malaria, which WHO praises as "a remarkable achievement". On June 30, 2021, the World Health Organization announced that China has officially obtained "malaria-free certification".
According to the World Health Organization, in 2020, an estimated 241 million new malaria cases and 627 000 malaria-related deaths occurred in 85 countries, 96% of which occurred in Africa, of which about 80% were children under 5 years of age, and on average, one African child will still die of malaria every 55 seconds.
China has also suffered from malaria, and in this decades-long antimalarial campaign, China's continuous and accurate prevention and control and achievements in independent innovation in the development of antimalarial drugs have made outstanding contributions to the world's antimalarial.
On May 23, 1967, the "National Malaria Prevention and Control Research Collaborative Conference" was held in Beijing, which opened the "523 Task" to concentrate the national scientific and technological forces to study new drugs for malaria prevention and control. In 1972, Tu Youyou and his team discovered that artemisinin can effectively kill malaria parasites, opening a new chapter in the world's antimalarial drug research.
According to the information released by Fosun Pharma, after the advent of artemisinin, Guilin Nanyao, a member company of Fosun Pharma, joined the "523 Task", participated in the secondary research and development of artemisinin, successfully synthesized artesunate on the basis of artemisinin in 1977, and developed artesunate for injection in the following year, solving the water solubility problem of artemisinin drugs.
In 1987, artesunate, independently developed by Guilin Nanyao, a member of Fosun Pharma, was awarded the China X-01 Class I New Drug Certificate issued by the Ministry of Health, and artesunate for injection also obtained the X-02 New Drug Certificate. The widespread clinical use of artesunate has saved the lives of many malaria patients and was listed by the World Health Organization in 2000 as one of the essential antimalarial drugs.
On December 21, 2005, Fosun Pharma's self-developed artesunate tablets were pre-certified by the World Health Organization, representing Chinese enterprises to achieve a breakthrough of zero. At the end of 2010, with the results of an international clinical study on Artesun, artesun, anesun ester for injection, which was featured on the cover of The Lancet, Artesun, for injection, was also pre-certified by the World Health Organization. In early 2011, the World Health Organization revised its Malaria Treatment Guidelines to change the first-line treatment of severe malaria from quinine to artesunate for injection.
The results of the 2010 African Multicenter Pediatric Severe Malaria Treatment Trial (AQUAMAT) were published in The Lancet
As the first Chinese pharmaceutical brand to be widely recognized in Africa, Fosun Pharma's self-developed and produced artesune artesune for injection has treated more than 48 million patients with severe malaria worldwide by the end of 2021, becoming a business card for China's self-developed innovative drugs to go global.
Since 2020, the spread of COVID-19 around the world has also posed serious challenges to the global malaria response. According to the World Malaria Report 2021 released by the World Health Organization, about two-thirds (47,000) of global malaria deaths in 2020 will be linked to disruptions in malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wu Yifang, Chairman and CEO of Fosun Pharma, said, "Malaria is a global public health issue of widespread concern to the international community. We always adhere to innovative research and development, and regard helping to fight and eradicate malaria globally as an important corporate social responsibility. Fosun Pharma's globalized operational network will also help to further enhance the accessibility and affordability of antimalarial drugs and other pharmaceutical products in Africa, thus contributing to the achievement of the WHO's strategic goal of global malaria control and elimination by 2016-2030. ”
It is reported that as of January 2022, the total number of antimalarial products of Fosun Pharma through WHO-PQ has increased to 30, including 26 preparation products and 4 API products, which is the world's largest number of antimalarial drug manufacturers with the largest number of certified antimalarial drugs. After more than 15 years of operation in Africa, Fosun Pharma has established a sales network in 39 countries and regions in Africa to ensure the continued availability of medical and health products such as antimalarial drugs in Africa.
[Reporter] Yan Huifang
【Author】 Yan Huifang
Healthy living circle