Tech Watch: Anti-malarial innovations come to market

“Mosquitoes are changing quite a lot due to multiple things, including climate change,” says Eric Ochomo, Deputy Director, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). “We are seeing a lot of early evening or early morning bites when people are not under nets. This complicates control efforts,”

Dual insecticide bed nets combine two active ingredients to overcome mosquito resistance. Trials across Africa showed they cut malaria infections in children by 50%. Spatial repellents, on the other hand, release protective vapours that stop mosquitoes from biting, even outside sleeping hours. 

“Malaria is constantly evolving,” said Dr Jennifer Gardy, Deputy Director for Malaria Surveillance, Data and Epidemiology at the Gates Foundation. “We need new tools, we need faster timelines. We need better ways of getting those tools out to the communities that need them the most if we’re going to get malaria eradicated.”

The dual-active ingredient bed nets, which combine pyrethroids with a second chemical like chlorfenapyr to kill resistant mosquitoes. Between 2019 and 2022, these nets prevented an estimated 13 million cases and saved nearly 25,000 lives. The World Health Organization recommends them, and they are already being deployed across Africa through donor-backed programmes.

Corine Ngufor, Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explained that trials in Benin and other African countries showed dual-AI nets halved infections in children. “We are able to restore the ability of nets to kill resistant mosquitoes and maintain an affordable intervention for vulnerable communities,” she said during a high-level State of Malaria Innovation Expert Briefing.

Ngufor added that the new nets were developed through partnerships between research institutions, the Innovative Vector Control Consortium and chemical companies. “The Global Fund has played a huge role in scaling both traditional nets and these new dual-AI nets,” she said, warning that declining donor funding would slow roll-out and risk reversing recent gains.

Spatial repellents are also a new tool. These devices release protective vapours that prevent mosquitoes from biting, covering gaps left by nets, particularly outdoors. In Kenya, studies showed they cut new infections by thirty-three percent even where bed net coverage was near universal and resistance to pyrethroids was widespread.

“Spatial repellents are not coming in to replace bed nets. They are complementary and cover gaps that bed nets cannot. In Busia County in Kenya, even with 99% net coverage, we still saw a one-third reduction in malaria transmission with repellents. They use special pyrethroid formulations that remain effective even where mosquitoes have developed resistance to standard bed net insecticides.” Dr Eric Ochomo, explained.

The World Health Organization issued its first recommendation for spatial repellents in August 2025, clearing the way for national adoption. Experts say wider use in high-burden countries, refugee settlements and outdoor work sites could strengthen malaria control. They also stress that continued funding is essential to deliver these tools at scale.

The fight against malaria advanced further when Swissmedic approved Coartem Baby, the first treatment for infants weighing less than five kilograms.

Approved on 8 July, The artemether-lumefantrine formulation was cleared after a study funded by the PAMAfrica consortium. Novartis, with Medicines for Malaria Venture and African partners, plans to distribute the drug on a largely not-for-profit basis.

Eight African countries that tested the formulation are expected to issue rapid approvals. With three-quarters of malaria deaths occurring in under-fives, Coartem Baby closes a critical treatment gap for the youngest patients.