Macintyre F, et al. - In this study, researchers figure out if a single dose of artefenomel (800 mg) plus piperaquine phosphate (PQP) in ascending doses is an efficacious treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the 'target' population of children ≤ 5 years of age in Africa and also Asian patients of all ages. In this first clinical trial assessing a single encounter antimalarial therapy, none of the treatment arms reached the target efficacy of > 95% PCR-adjusted ACPR at day 28. Achieving very high effectiveness following single-dose treatment is challenging since > 95% of the population must have sufficient concentrations to achieve cure across a range of parasite sensitivities and baseline parasitaemia levels. While challenging, the development of tools suitable for deployment as single encounter curative treatments for adults and children in Africa and to support elimination strategies remains a key development goal.