Malaria treatment close

Perth-based Eastland Medical Systems Ltd is a step closer to bringing its revolutionary anti-malaria treatment to market, with African field trials to hopefully begin as soon as September.

ArTiMist, which delivers an already proven ant-malaria drug in a new method, through a spray under the tongue, will be targeted at children and infants who are often unable to digest tablet forms of malaria treatment due to symptoms of the disease shutting down their digestive system.

"When a young child gets malaria they go into shock, so their digestive system ceases to operate and it shuts down, so it doesn't matter what you do, it doesn't work because the metabolisms closed down," Eastland Medical executive director Douglas Sims said.

"That's the key with the spray."

In recent phase one trials, the spray has proven to be absorbed far more quickly than in tablet form, with the body recognising the treatment and increasing its absorption rate of the drug over the five day period.

"It's the speed with which you attack the parasite which is the critical thing," Mr Sims told WA Business News.

The ease of use of the ArTiMist treatment means that it can be administered by the child's parents, with no need to travel to medical centres or clinics for delivery of the drug.

The durability and strength of packaging means it can withstand the tough conditions of Africa or Asia, and due to the fact the spray is not an aerosol, it can be transported by plane.

More than 500 million cases of malaria are reported each year, with around 3,000 children dying from the disease each day.

Eastland Medical Systems directors were recently invited to celebrate former South African leader Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, using the event to build and grow relationships with those in the region.