Mefloquine

The prevention and control of drug-resistant malaria has always been a major challenge in the global public health sector. As a quinoline methanol antimalarial drug, mefloquine exerts its effect by inhibiting the nucleic acid synthesis of Plasmodium and interfering with its protein metabolism process, and has good killing activity against Plasmodium falciparum (including chloroquine-resistant strains) and Plasmodium vivax. It is mainly used clinically for the treatment and prevention of chloroquine-resistant or multi-drug resistant falciparum malaria, and the applicable population includes travelers to high malaria areas, resident staff, and malaria patients without contraindications. It is one of the antimalarial stockpiling drugs recommended by the WHO.

In the current global antimalarial API market, the annual demand for mefloquine is stable at around 200 tons, with a compound annual growth rate maintained at 3.2%. The demand growth mainly comes from public health procurement in areas with high incidence of drug-resistant malaria such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Due to the high requirements for chiral synthesis technology in the production process, the current global production capacity is concentrated in pharmaceutical enterprises in China and India, among which Chinese enterprises supply nearly 45% of the global mefloquine APIs. There is no relevant centralized procurement record in China, and overseas public procurement orders account for more than 70% of the total industry shipment, with a relatively concentrated market competition pattern.

The original research enterprise of mefloquine is Roche, and the original brand name is Lariam. Its compound patent for the US market expired in 2008, and the core European patent expired in 2009. The main dosage form of the original product is 250mg tablets, which has been included in the FDA Reference Listed Drug Catalog, and is also included in the *Catalog of Reference Preparations of Chinese Chemical Drugs*. At present, 3 domestic enterprises have obtained A status for their mefloquine APIs through CDE registration, and another 5 enterprises have obtained approval for the marketing of their oral preparations. (Data as of June 2025, please refer to the official CDE website for the latest information)

CATO provides a full set of mefloquine impurity reference standards, which can fully meet various needs in the stages of API R&D, quality research and compliance declaration. Most products are in stock, and in-stock products ordered before 16:00 will be shipped on the same day. All reference standards comply with the requirements of multiple regulatory systems such as the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and FDA, helping enterprises efficiently complete the quality control and registration declaration processes.