A vaccine against malaria within three years?

A vaccine against malaria, including the final test phase has been underway since May in seven African countries, could be licensed within three to five years, said scientists, meeting in conference in Nairobi.

On the third day of their discussions, nearly a thousand participants at the 5th Conference of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) have evaluated the progress of current research on vaccine RTS, S, developed in partnership between the Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Bio).

The results of phase 2 of vaccine trial, published last year, showed an efficiency of 53% in young children affected by the disease.

The third phase of clinical trials is underway since May in seven African countries (Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania), involving 16,000 children aged six weeks to 17 months.

It evaluates side effects of the future vaccine, intended primarily for infants and children under five years, who are the most vulnerable to malaria.

"It is an extraordinary moment in the fight against malaria, and the highlight of more than two decades of research, including ten years of clinical trials in Africa," said Dr. Joe Cohen, co-inventor of vaccine RTS, S and researcher at GSK Bio.

Malaria kills over one million people annually worldwide, mostly children under five and pregnant women, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where one child dies every 30 seconds as a result of the disease.

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