Deltaprim

Deltaprim is a small molecule antimalarial chemoprophylaxis drug consisting of a fixed-dose combination of pyrimethamine and dapsone. Developed and evaluated by the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in collaboration with Tanzanian research institutions, it was specifically studied for the prevention of malaria and associated severe anemia in infants living in areas of intense and perennial malaria transmission. The drug functions by inhibiting the folic acid synthesis pathway of *Plasmodium falciparum*; pyrimethamine acts as a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, while dapsone inhibits dihydropteroate synthase. Clinical trials conducted in Tanzania starting in 1995 demonstrated that weekly administration of Deltaprim to infants aged 2 to 12 months significantly reduced the incidence of severe anemia and clinical malaria episodes during the intervention period, although a rebound effect in malaria susceptibility was observed after the drug was discontinued.

Brand names

Deltaprim

Other names

pyrimethamine + dapsone