Combination therapy--a way to forestall artemisinin resistance and optimize uncomplicated malaria treatment

Artemisinin resistance represents a global concern, which requires a concerted and coordinated effort at a global level. Lessons learned from the experience of drug combination therapies in HIV, TB, and HCV infections showed that combination therapies reduce the risk of drug resistance development. In order to maximize the effectiveness of artemisinin and its derivates and to protect it from the development of resistance, WHO recommended that they should be combined with other drugs that have different mechanisms of action and longer half-lives. Until the attainment of new pharmaceuticals, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the way to forestall artemisinin resistance and optimize uncomplicated malaria treatment.