sulfadoxine + pyrimethamine (Roche)

IPTp (Intermittent Preventive Treatment for malaria in Pregnancy) is a public health intervention and preventive treatment strategy used to reduce the burden of malaria in pregnant women and their newborns. While IPTp is a regimen rather than a single drug, it most commonly refers to the administration of a fixed-dose combination of **sulfadoxine** and **pyrimethamine** (SP) at scheduled intervals during antenatal care visits, regardless of the presence of Plasmodium infection. Sulfadoxine is a sulfonamide that inhibits dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS), and pyrimethamine is an antifolate that inhibits dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR); together, they synergistically disrupt the folate synthesis pathway essential for DNA synthesis in *Plasmodium falciparum*. In clinical research, such as the Washington University School of Medicine-sponsored 'Beleuman Welbodi' trial (NCT03079388) in Sierra Leone, IPTp is evaluated as a core component of anti-infective bundles aimed at improving birth outcomes in malnourished pregnant women.

Brand names

Fansidar

Other names

sulfadoxine-pyrimethamineIntermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy