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Malaria vaccine has passed the third phase of clinical trials
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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A leading candidate for a malaria vaccine has taken another step toward widespread use, although its poor effectiveness in severe forms of the disease has left some experts disappointed.
Latest data from phase 3 clinical trials.
The vaccine's official designation is RTS,S/AS01. It is aimed at the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Its development is financed by GlaxoSmithKline and the World Health Organization under the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. It is this drug that is the main hope today. If approved by regulatory authorities, it will become the first vaccine against malaria and open a new chapter in the history of the fight against parasitic diseases.
The trials have been ongoing since March 2009. 15,460 children were 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 vaccine was about 50% effective against clinical malaria and about 45% effective against severe malaria.
"The results of the study are a major scientific achievement," says Vasee Murthy, a representative of the project on behalf of WHO. "These are more promising data compared to the results of the second phase. An anti-malaria vaccine has never gone this far."
Not all experts are so optimistic. The overall effectiveness of the vaccine against severe malaria in all age groups was about 31%. This disappointed the researchers: previous smaller trials suggested that the drug would be more effective. The developer of the drug, Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute (UK), says that a big step has been taken, since many children took part in the trials, but he does not hide his dissatisfaction with the results. According to him, low effectiveness in severe forms of the disease is a big scientific problem.
Professor of child health and vaccinology Kim Mulholland from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK) notes that despite the relative failure, researchers should not abandon RTS,S. They can focus on vaccinating older children. 45% is a very good result.
Ciri Agbenyega, head of malaria research at Komfo Anokye Hospital in Ghana and chair of the partner trial committee, also remains optimistic and sees ways to improve the vaccine.
Thomas Smith, who studies malaria epidemiology at the Swiss Tropical Institute, believes it is too early to talk about effectiveness: “For me, the big question is how long the effectiveness will last. It is clear that this is the first time a malaria vaccine has been so successful, but we should not expect this particular drug to be widely used.”
The full test results will be published in 2014. We'll see then.