Artesunate/amodiaquine, sold under the trade name Camoquin among others, is a medication used for the treatment of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. It is a

fixed-dose combination A combination drug or a fixed-dose combination (FDC) is a medicine that includes two or more active ingredients combined in a single dosage form. Terms like "combination drug" or "combination drug product" can be common shorthand for a FDC prod ...

artesunate Artesunate (AS) is a medication used to treat malaria. The intravenous form is preferred to quinine for severe malaria. Often it is used as part of Artemisinin-based combination therapy, combination therapy, such as artesunate plus mefloquine. I ...

and

amodiaquine Amodiaquine (ADQ) is a medication used to treat malaria, including ''Plasmodium falciparum'' malaria when uncomplicated. It is recommended to be given with artesunate to reduce the risk of resistance. Due to the risk of rare but serious side effec ...

. Specifically it recommended for acute uncomplicated ''

Plasmodium falciparum ''Plasmodium falciparum'' is a Unicellular organism, unicellular protozoan parasite of humans, and the deadliest species of ''Plasmodium'' that causes malaria in humans. The parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female ''Anopheles'' mosqu ...

'' malaria. It is taken by mouth. Common side effects include loss of appetite,

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...

, abdominal pain, sleepiness, trouble sleeping, and cough. Safety in

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

is not clear; however, the medication may be used if others are not possible. It is believed to be safe for use during

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...

. Artesunate and amodiaquine are both

antimalarial medication Antimalarial medications or simply antimalarials are a type of antiparasitic chemical agent, often naturally derived, that can be used to treat or to prevent malaria, in the latter case, most often aiming at two susceptible target groups, young c ...

; however, work by different mechanisms. Artesunate/amodiaquine was commercially launched in 2007. It is on the

World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (aka Essential Medicines List or EML), published by the World Health Organization (WHO), contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health ...

. Artesunate/amodiaquine is available as a

generic medication A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active ch ...

. As of 2014 it is not commercially available in the United States or United Kingdom.

Medical uses

Early clinical trials showed that a once-a-day dosage was effective. It was subsequently clinically shown to be equally effective as

artemether/lumefantrine Artemether/lumefantrine, sold under the trade name Coartem among others, is a combination of the two medications artemether and lumefantrine. It is used to treat malaria caused by ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is not treatable with chloroquine. I ...

, although it is likely to be more effective in the field due to its simpler once-a-day dosage compared to artemether/lumefantrine twice-per-day dosage.

Society and culture

Artesunate/amodiaquine was commercially launched in 2007 as an affordable treatment for malaria, devised by DNDi in partnership with

Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...

. ASAQ was handed over to the MMV Access and Product Management Team in May 2015.

References

External links

Patient Leaflet

Monograph (2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artesunate Amodiaquine Antimalarial agents Combination drugs World Health Organization essential medicines Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate