ASAQ... Adapted
Adapted to WHO recommendations
ACTs are the way forward. ACTs are the way forward. Due to increasing resistance to antimalarials, particularly chloroquine, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) – the concomitant use of two antimalarials, including an artemisinin derivative 1. Ideally, these combinations should be formulated as fixed-dose combinations, i.e. both drugs are contained in a single tablet to guarantee treatment compliance.
Artesunate (AS) plus amodiaquine (AQ) is one of the four WHO-recommended ACTs to treat uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Africa. Of the 41 countries in sub-Saharan Africa which recommend the use of ACTs, 20 have chosen the artesunate + amodiaquine combination as first-line treatment 2.
Adapted to patient needs of all ages
African demographic data of over 88,000 African children and adults 3 were used to select 4 different presentations based on age and weight: infants (4.5-8 kg or 2-11 months), young children (9-17 kg or 1-5 years), children (18-35 kg or 6-13 years), and adults (≥ 36 kg or ≥ 14 years). These AS and AQ doses provide the smallest risks of over- and under-dosage.
Adapted from two well-known drugs with proven efficacy and safety
AS and AQ are well-known drugs. Numerous studies have compared the sanofi-aventis AS + AQ combination with single drugs and/or other ACTs. Multiple studies have cumulatively included approximately 10,000 patients taking the AS + AQ combination (read more in the Clinical Data sheet).
An efficacious and well-tolerated treatment. Evidence of the efficacy and tolerability of the AS + AQ combination is shown by a number of studies as detailed in the Clinical Data sheet. In the one clinical study of the fixed-dose combination to date, efficacy rates for ASAQ were greater than 95% 4. This study also showed good tolerability of ASAQ, equivalent to the loose AS + AQ association.
1. Guidelines for the treatment of malaria. World Health Organization. 2006, p. 21 & 42.
2. Sources: NMPM-RBM-Afro, 2006.
3. Use of weight-for-age data to optimize tablet strength and dosing regimens for a new fixed-dose artesunate-amodiaquine combination for treating falciparum malaria. Taylor WRJ et al. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. December 2006; 84(12) : 956-64, p. 961.
4. A comparative clinical assessment of fixed-dose artesunate/amodiaquine (AS/AQ) versus loose formulation of artesunate + amodiaquine (AS + AQ). Sirima SB. Data on File – sanofi-aventis.
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