Medical expert of the article
New publications
Malaria vaccine passed Phase III clinical trials
Last reviewed: 20.11.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
The main candidate for the role of the vaccine against malaria made another step towards widespread use. At the same time, the low effectiveness of the drug in severe forms of the disease disappointed some experts.
Fresh data from the third phase of clinical trials.
The official designation of the vaccine is RTS, S / AS01. It is directed against the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Its creation is financed by GlaxoSmithKline Corporation and the World Health Organization under the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative program. This is the main hope for this drug today. If approved by the regulatory authorities, it will be the first vaccine against malaria and will open a new chapter in the history of the fight against parasitic diseases.
Tests have been conducted since March 2009. 15 460 children are divided into two age groups - 6-12 weeks and 5-17 months. In a group of six thousand children aged 5 to 17 months, the effectiveness of the vaccine against clinical malaria was about 50%, and against the severe form - about 45%.
"The results of the study are a major scientific achievement," notes WHO representative Vasee Murthy. - This is more promising data compared with the results of the second phase. The antimalarial vaccine has never gone so far. "
Not all experts are so optimistic. The overall effectiveness of the vaccine in severe forms of malaria in all age groups was about 31%. This disappointed the researchers: previous trials of a smaller scale have suggested that the remedy will be more effective. The developer of the drug, Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute (UK), says that a big step has been taken, as many children participated in the tests, but did not hide their displeasure with the results. According to him, low efficiency in the severe form of the disease is a big scientific problem.
Professor of Child Health and Vaccinology Kim Mulholland of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK) notes that, despite the relative failure, researchers should not abandon RTS, S. You can focus on vaccinating older children. 45% is a very good result.
Tsiri Agbeniega, head of the Department of Research on Combating Malaria at Komfo Anokye Hospital (Ghana) and chairman of the Testing Partner Committee, also remains optimistic and sees ways to improve the vaccine.
Thomas Smith, studying the epidemiology of malaria at the Swiss Tropical Institute, believes that it is too early to talk about efficiency: "For me, the main question is: how long will the effectiveness remain. It is obvious that for the first time the vaccine against malaria has achieved such success, but we should not expect that this particular drug will be widely spread. "
The full test results will be published in 2014. Then we'll see.