Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Tuesday announced $100 million of funding over the next five years for research into new treatments for malaria, a mosquito-borne disease with a devastating impact that killed 445,000 people in 2016.
There were some 216 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2016, an increase of five million from the year before, according to the World Health Organization.
Around 90 percent of the 445,000 of malaria-related deaths occurred in Africa, but people in southeast Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, the western Pacific and the Americas are also considered at risk.
In a bid to redress the disproportionate burden carried by African countries, Novartis said it would establish a strategy aimed at ensuring equitable pricing.
In a statement, the company also said it would “further help expand access” to treatment for children with…
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