World's first malaria vaccine may hit markets by 2015

The world's first anti-malaria vaccine may be approved for use within two years, after encouraging results from a large-scale trial of a vaccine candidate.

UK drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is seeking regulatory approval for the vaccine after trial data showed that it had cut the number of cases in African children.

Results from a large-scale Phase III trial, presented in Durban, show that the most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S, continued to protect young children and infants from clinical malaria up to 18 months after vaccination.

The new results are from a study of 15,000 children in seven countries in Africa where malaria claims 600,000 lives every year. An average of 941 cases of clinical malaria were prevented for every 1,000 vaccinated children over the 18-month follow-up period. Cases of malaria hospitalizations were reduced by 42%. Infants, aged 6-12 weeks at first vaccination, had 27% fewer cases of malaria. Also, 444 cases of clinical malaria were prevented for every 1,000 infants vaccinated.