ACTs are extremely effective in treating multidrug-resistant malaria. MMV currently has four new ACTs in late-stage development, some of which may be ready to treat malaria patients as early as 2008.

The grant will be disbursed over four years starting in 2006 with a large part dedicated to MMV’s Access and Delivery activities such as malaria support groups, pricing surveys, information workshops, and direct country support programmes. The Dutch government also hopes to involve MMV in the implementation of a potential subsidy for ACTs as it goes forward.

“This is excellent news for malaria patients. With this generous funding we will be able to minimise the many obstacles to accessing new ACTS once developed and licensed. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a real and sustainable health impact enabled by the innovative drugs coming though our pipeline,” said Dr Chris Hentschel, President and CEO of MMV.

An estimated 2.4 billion people are at risk from this deadly disease that kills over a million people each year. Most of those who die are children in Africa. Malaria contributes to death in young children in three ways: An acute infection can kill a child within 48 hours, repeated infections contribute to the development of severe anemia, substantially increasing the risk of death; and malaria infection in pregnancy can result in low birth weight which can have fatal consequences.