Patients in poor countries could gain easier access to effective malaria treatments at a fraction of current prices under a pioneering subsidy mechanism unveiled on Friday.

Up to $225m (€172m, £152m) will be made available to one Asian and 10 African countries over the next two years to lower prices for artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) through a direct subsidy and bulk discounts called the affordable medicines facility for malaria (AMFM).