The Innovation Countdown 2030 Initiative (ic30) has selected MMV’s compound OZ439 as one of 30 high-impact innovations that can save lives and transform global health.

In a year-long effort, more than 5,000 experts from across the world were asked to submit life-saving ideas and technologies to help accelerate progress toward the new health targets proposed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Out of a pool of 500 innovative ideas, 30 were chosen for their great potential by independent global experts.

The results of this effort are presented in the ic30 report: Reimagining global health produced by PATH and its partners: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and United States Agency for International Development.

In the section “Innovations for combating infectious diseases”, the report presents OZ439 as “a potent synthetic antimalarial drug candidate…that may also be effective against artemisinin-resistant strains of malaria.”

OZ439 or artefenomel is one of MMV’s front-runner compounds with single-exposure potential. It has continued to progress through the pipeline, taking us closer to a next-generation antimalarial treatment.

OZ439 is now in phase IIb combination studies with piperaquine (PQP) as a single-exposure cure in partnership with Sanofi. The trial is progressing well; in March 2015, a third review of the data by an Independent Safety Monitoring Board allowed recruitment to begin of children in the lowest age group (≥6 months to ≤2 years).

OZ439 will also be tested in combination with another 4-aminoquinoline, ferroquine, a novel antimalarial being developed by Sanofi. This second phase IIb trial is due to start in 2015. Following the results of the two studies, a decision will be taken regarding which combination to take forward into phase III studies.

Read more about OZ439 (artefenomel) in Chapter 3 of MMV's Annual Report 2014.