Shin Poong Pharm said Wednesday that World Health Organization had put the Korean drugmaker’s malaria medicine, Pyramax, on its “Model List of Essential Medicines” for both tablet and granule form.

Pyramax_피라맥스(compound: artesunate, pyronaridine tetraphosphate) is a next-generation malaria treatment co-developed by Shin Poong Pharm_신풍제약 (CEO: Ryu Jei-man_유제만) and Medicines for Malaria Venture, a Swiss nonprofit organization, to treat two strands of the disease: P. falciparum and P. vivax.

The drug is the first and only artemisinin-based combination therapy to gain approval from the European Medicine Agency in 2015 to treat malaria. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also approved the drug last year.

The model list, updated every two years since 1977, aims to list innovative medicines that are proven to be clinically efficient and anticipated to have a significant impact on public health around the world. National governments use the list as a valuable reference for setting up their essential drug catalogs.

“Pyramax’s listing on WHO’s list has proved its efficacy and safety once again, which is significant as it establishes Pyramax as an efficient and safe treatment for people suffering from malaria,” said Shin Poong President Ryu Jei-man. “We will do our best to register and distribute the product to treat malaria patients along with the Medicines for Malaria Venture and The Global Fund, which plays a significant role in supplying the drug.”