Strides gets WHO pre-qualification for anti-malarial tablets

WHO prequalification of medicines is a service to assess the quality, safety ,efficacy of medicinal products

 

Drug firm Strides Arcolab today said it has received World Health Organisation (WHO) pre- qualification for its anti-malarial tablets and the company will launch the product immediately.

Anti- malarial Artemether and Lumifantrine (AL) tablets constitutes over 80% of artemesinin combination therapy (ACT) procured under Global Fund and other similar programmes, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Strides Arcolab Pharma CEO Manish Gupta said: "This approval is another initiative by Strides to make high quality, affordable medicines available in the African sub-continent and other middle-income countries."

WHO prequalification of medicines is a service provided by WHO to assess the quality, safety and efficacy of medicinal products. In 2002 Artemether and Lumefantrine tablets were added to the WHO's Essential Medicines list.

The tablets compliments the company's basket of products in the anti-HIV/AIDS and anti-TB therapies for these markets, Gupta added.

The product will be manufactured at company's US Food and Drug Administration approved and WHO pre-qualified facility in Bengaluru, Strides Arcolab said.

Shares of Strides Arcolab were today trading at Rs 853 per scrip on BSE, up 0.18% from its previous close.