Novartis AG and a New Anti-Malaria Drug

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An experimental Novartis AG medicinethat killed drug-resistant malaria in laboratory studies maybecome the first new class of treatment against the disease in30 years, researchers said.

The drug cured mice at lower doses than existing medicinesand killed drug-resistant strains taken from patients inThailand, researchers said in the journal Science yesterday.Human trials of the drug are planned for this year.

“I would be extremely shocked if someone comes back andtells me that we’re not hitting the bug in humans,” saidThierry Diagana, who led the research at the Novartis Instituteof Tropical Diseases in Singapore ....