NEW YORK, April 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Immtech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Amex: IMM - News) announced today that it has initiated a Phase IIb clinical trial for the Company's oral drug candidate, pafuramidine maleate (pafuramidine), to treat patients with uncomplicated malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, (the deadliest form of malaria). This dose-ranging trial will involve total daily doses of 400 mg or 600 mg, given either once daily or divided into twice daily doses. Three days will be the treatment duration in the first stage of this trial. The primary objective is to establish a dose of pafuramidine that can be studied as mono-therapy in a subsequent Phase III trial. The trial will also explore the efficacy of the combination of pafuramidine and artesunate as a treatment for malaria. Additionally, data from this trial will support Immtech's malaria prevention development efforts. Currently Immtech is conducting a Phase II trial of pafuramidine for malaria prevention.
