Swiss drugmaker Novartis says it has developed the first new class of malaria treatment in about 25 years.

A study of the drug, GanLum, in 12 African countries found it not only works well against the mosquito-borne parasite that causes malaria, but also seems to block it from spreading.

Malaria is caused by a parasite that spreads through mosquito bites. Infected people can suffer fever, chills and flu-like illness.

If it goes untreated, infected people can develop severe complications and die. It's mainly found in poverty-stricken regions of the world with tropical and subtropical climates.

The largest death toll in recent years has been seen in children in sub-Saharan Africa.

The medical battle against malaria has ebbed and flowed, as new drugs come along but the parasite gradually develops the ability to resist them.

Until 2008, the class of drugs known as artemisinin have worked well and helped drive a dramatic decline in malaria death rates across the world.

Artemisinin-based compounds remain the first-line treatment in most cases.

But signs of partial resistance emerged as early as 2008, and have been increasingly reported in a number of countries, including Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the mosquito borne parasite kills almost 600,000 people each year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and most of those who die are children.

In a study involving about 1,700 adults and children in 12 African countries, GanLum was found to have a cure rate of better than 97%, which was a little higher that a common artemisinin-based treatment.

It also was highly effective against mutant malaria parasites with partial drug resistance, and against the mature versions of the parasite involved in spread of the disease according to Novartis' Dr. Sujata Vaidyanathan, the Head of Global Health Development.

"They used a technology called high-throughput screening where basically they run millions of compounds in an automated fashion testing against the different parasites and really ensuring that it's a rapid acting drug as well as something that has (been) optimized for working against resistance," Vaidyanathan says.

"So really this has the potential to not just treat the disease but also to work against the resistant parasites and additionally block the transmission of the disease," she added.

According to Novartis, this is because the drug is effective for longer, during the sexual stage of the mosquito's development.

Growing concern particularly over the mosquito's resistance to drugs has meant that wholly different compounds are welcomed by scientists.

A limitation: GanLum has been given as a packet of tiny powder-like granules, once daily for three days.

But getting people to take malaria drugs over several days has been challenging — some stop after one or two doses makes them feel better.

Experts say a third or more of malaria patients fail to complete the current standard three-day treatment course, a problem that can encourage drug resistance and allow curable cases to intensify.

In an effort to offer a one-time treatment, another team of researchers said an experiment in Gabon, West Africa found a single dose of four widely available malaria drugs proved to be an effective cure.

The two studies were presented Wednesday at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference in Toronto.

Abdoulaye Djimdé, Professor of Parasitology and Mycology at the University of Sciences Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), was part of the trial of GanLum.

He agrees the ultimate goal would be a new class of drug which can also be given in a single dose, but he says the rates of malaria in Africa means new drugs are needed now.

"This single dose cure is going to be the holy grail but it will take some time before we get there and resistance is developing there is need for this non artemisinin based drugs. So as we work towards the single dose we are very happy to have this one," says Djimdé.

Novartis officials said they are working toward seeking regulatory approvals.

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