2007年VOA标准英语-New Malaria Drug Could Save Millions of Lives A

By Sonja Pace
London
01 March 2007

Europe's biggest pharmaceutical¹ company and a small Geneva-based non-profit group have teamed up to produce a malaria² combination drug that they say is better, cheaper, and easier to use than other medication on the market.  VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London the drug is expected to be available in a number of African countries by mid-April. 

The new medication, known as ASAQ, is a small pill that combines two of the most effective anti-malarial drugs known today.  While the two components³, artesunate and amodiaquine, have been in use for some years, it is only now that they have been combined into one tablet.

 
Dr. Bernard Pecoul
European pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis teamed up with the non-profit group, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, or DNDi to produce the new combo.

DNDi director Bernard Pecoul says the goal was to produce an effective drug, easy to transport to remote areas, easy to take, low cost and adaptable⁴ to adults as well as babies.

"That is why we developed three different tablets - one for the small children, a second one for children until the age of five, a third one for children five to 13, and for all these age groups the treatment is extremely simple - one tablet a day for three days," Pecoul says.  "After the age of 13 and for adults, the bigger tablet is used two tablets once a day for three days."

Pecoul says simplicity⁵ is vital to ensure that people take the full treatment.  The new tablets will cost less than one dollar per adult per three-day treatment, and less than 50 cents per child per treatment.

DNDi works with various public sector⁶ groups in developing nations, as well a with U.N. agencies, such as UNICEF and WHO.

Sanofi-Aventis is a highly profitable pharmaceutical enterprise with net sales in 2006 totaling more than $37 billion.  

 
Dr. Robert Sebbag
Sanofi-Aventis Vice⁷ President for Accessible Medicines Dr. Robert Sebbag says, the company took an unusual step in not insisting on patenting this new drug, something drug companies normally depend on to ensure profits by having exclusive rights to the market for a specified⁸ time.

"No patents, no intellectual property for this compound.  We have accepted that, because the needs are very important one[s], and the accessibility is something very important," he says.

The need is there.  Malaria, along with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis⁹, is one of the three most deadly diseases in Africa, where it kills one child every 30 seconds.

 
Dr. Wilfred Mbacham
Dr. Wilfred Mbachem of the University of Yaounde in Cameroon tells VOA that, aside from the human tragedy, malaria also has a tremendous economic impact.

"Africa is losing a lot due to malaria ... in lack of productivity, in lack of hours lost for burial rights, children not going to school, ... they are losing $12 billion a year, but it will take just $4.2 billion to bring the disease under control," he says.

While sub-Saharan Africa is the worst affected¹⁰ area, malaria is a global disease, present in more than 100 countries with 350-500 million cases occurring every year.

The new malaria pill is indeed a global effort.  The plant, which provides the main active ingredient, is grown in China, the tablets are being produced in Morocco and the drug has been approved in 10 other African countries.

The drug was officially launched in Paris Thursday.  But one day earlier, senior representatives from DNDi and Sanofi-Aventis and experts spoke¹¹ with journalists in London about the new drug.

1 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

2 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

3 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

4 adaptable   

adj.能适应的，适应性强的，可改编的

参考例句：

• He is an adaptable man and will soon learn the new work.他是个适应性很强的人，很快就将学会这种工作。
• The soil is adaptable to the growth of peanuts.这土壤适宜于花生的生长。

5 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

9 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。