Scientists have developed a long-awaited anti-malaria medicine designed to counter rising drug resistance in Africa and south-east Asia, boosting efforts to combat the disease as steep global health spending cuts threaten to accelerate its spread.

The novel therapy should help curb transmission of the sometimes lethal mosquito-borne parasite and combat strains that are partially resilient to current medicines, according to developers led by Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceuticals company.

Novartis plans to seek quick regulatory approvals from health authorities for the drug, known as GanLum, which would be the first new anti-malaria treatment for a generation. The development comes as experts warn of rising risks of an international resurgence of the disease that could reverse a quarter of a century of gains.