This study aims to confirm the efficacy, safety and tolerability of KLU156, a fixed dose combination of ganaplacide (KAF156) and a solid dispersion formulation of lumefantrine (lumefantrine-SDF), when administered once daily for three days in adults and children ≥ 10 kg of body weight suffering from uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria (with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection).

In the Extension phase, the safety, tolerability and efficacy of repeated treatment with KLU156 will be assessed for a maximum of two years in patients who did not experience early treatment failure (ETF), who did not experience any study treatment-related SAE (Serious Adverse Event) previously and who gave informed consent to participate in the Extension phase.

The purpose of this study is to confirm the efficacy, safety and tolerability of KLU156 in patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria (with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection) by demonstrating that KLU156 is non-inferior to Coartem.

• The study duration will be 43 days (Core phase) plus up to 24 months (Extension phase).
• The treatment duration will be 3 days for each malaria episode.
• The visit frequency will be Days 1-3 (hospitalized) and 5 follow-up visits (Days 4, 8, 22, 29 and 43) in the Core phase and Days 1-3 (hospitalized) and 3 follow-up visits (Days 4, 8 and 29) in the Extension phase.

This study has two different primary outcomes depending on the submission (US New Drug Application (NDA) or non-US submissions).

Key Inclusion criteria (Core phase)

1. Male or female patients ≥ 10 kg of body weight.
2. Microscopically confirmed diagnosis of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria with an asexual P. falciparum parasitemia ≥ 1,000 and ≤ 200,000 parasites/µL at the time of pre-screening with or without other Plasmodium spp. co-infection.
3. Axillary temperature ≥ 37.5 ºC or oral temperature ≥ 38.0 ºC or tympanic/rectal temperature ≥ 38.5 ºC; or history of fever during the previous 24 hours (at least documented verbally)
4. Negative pregnancy test for patients of childbearing potential
5. Signed informed consent must be obtained before any assessment is performed; for minors, signed informed consent must be obtained from parent/legal guardian. If the parent/legal guardian is unable to read and write, then a witnessed consent according to local ethical standards is permitted. Patients who are capable of providing assent, must provide it along with parent/legal guardian consent or as per local ethical standards
6. The patient and/or their parent/legal guardian is able to understand and comply with protocol requirements, instructions and protocol-stated restrictions and is likely to complete the study as planned.

Key Exclusion criteria (Core phase)

1. Signs and symptoms of severe malaria according to WHO 2015 (World Health Organization)

2. Concurrent febrile illnesses (e.g., typhoid fever, known or suspected dengue fever, known COVID19)

3. Severe malnutrition. For patients ≥ 12 years: body mass index (BMI) < 16.0. For children < 12 years: less than 70% of median normalized WHO reference weight or very low mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC < 115 mm)

4. Repeated vomiting (defined as > 3 times in the 24 hours prior to start of screening) or severe diarrhea (defined as > 3 watery stools in the 24 hours prior to start of screening)

5. Clinically relevant abnormalities of electrolyte balance which require correction, e.g., hypokalemia, hypocalcemia or hypomagnesemia

6. Anemia (hemoglobin level <7 g/dL)

7. Any surgical or medical condition which might significantly alter the absorption, distribution, metabolism, or excretion of drugs (e.g., Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) or tuberculosis (TB) patients on treatment), or which may jeopardize the patient in case of participation in the study.

8. Any of the following:

   • Aspartate Aminotransferase/ Alanine Aminotransferase (AST/ALT) > 3 x the upper limit of normal (ULN), regardless of the level of total bilirubin
   • Total bilirubin > 3 x ULN
   • Resting QT interval corrected by Fridericia's formula (QTcF) > 450 ms at screening

9. Prior antimalarial therapy or antibiotics with antimalarial activity within minimum of their five plasma half-lives (or within 4 weeks of screening if half-life is unknown)

10. History or family history of long QT syndrome or sudden cardiac death, or any other clinical condition known to prolong the QTc interval, such as history of symptomatic cardiac arrhythmias, clinically relevant bradycardia or severe heart disease

11. Pregnant or nursing (lactating) patients.

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.

Novartis is committed to sharing with qualified external researchers, access to patient-level data and supporting clinical documents from eligible studies. These requests are reviewed and approved by an independent review panel on the basis of scientific merit. All data provided is anonymized to respect the privacy of patients who have participated in the trial in line with applicable laws and regulations. This trial data availability is according to the criteria and process described on www.clinicalstudydatarequest.com.

The Novartis clinical trial team (CTT) will be blinded to the identity of the treatment from the time of randomization until the database lock for the analysis of the Core phase. Prior to unblinding the data of the Core phase (for the Novartis CTT), at least three DMC reviews are planned to minimize risks in this vulnerable patient population:

1. Once the first 200 patients (across both treatment arms) in the Core phase have been dosed and followed up to at least Day 22.
2. Once the first 750 patients (across both treatment arms) in the Core phase have been dosed and followed up to at least Day 22.
3. Additional DMC reviews may be conducted ad-hoc during the study, as deemed necessary.

All safety data from the Core phase as well as from the Extension phase that are available at these 2 scheduled timepoints will be included in the DMC reviews. After the database lock of the Core phase, the CTT will be unblinded.