Mefloquine during the study. Mefloquine was the first Public-Private Venture (PPV) between the US Department of Defense and a pharmaceutical company. WRAIR transferred all its phase I and phase II clinical trial data to Hoffman LaRoche and Smith Kline. FDA approval as a treatment for malaria was swift. Most notably, phase III safety and tolerability trials were skipped. The drug was first approved and sold on a commercial basis in Switzerland in 1985. However, mefloquine was not approved by the FDA for prophylactic use until 1989. This approval was based primarily on compliance, while safety and tolerability were overlooked. Because of
Mefloquine events, about 11-17% of travelers are incapacitated to some degree. Mefloquine may cause abnormalities with heart rhythms that are visible on electrocardiograms. Combining mefloquine with other drugs that cause similar effects, such as quinine or quinidine, can increase these effects. Combining mefloquine with halofantrine can cause significant increases in QTc intervals. Mefloquine is contraindicated in those with a previous history of seizures or a recent history of psychiatric disorders. Women should not become pregnant and should use effective birth control while taking mefloquine. A retrospective analysis of outcomes in more than 2,500 women found no evidence that mefloquine was associated