Malaria vaccine coming to Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that RTS,S — the world’s first malaria vaccine to successfully complete pivotal Phase 3 testing — will be rolled out in pilot projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

The vaccine acts against P. falciparum — the most deadly malaria parasite globally and the most prevalent in Africa. It was developed through a partnership between GlaxoSmithKline and the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and from a network of African research centres.

The vaccine was the subject of Phase 3 trials in more than 15,000 infants and young children in sub-Saharan Africa between mid-2009 and early 2014. Final results from the trial, published in The Lancet in April 2015, showed that the vaccine candidate helped protect children and infants from clinical malaria for at least three years after first vaccination. Following recommendations from two independent advisory groups, the WHO has this year been working to mobilise funding for a pilot program in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has now approved US$15 million for the malaria vaccine pilots, adding to prior commitments from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNITAID of up to US$27.5 million and US$9.6 million, respectively. The pilot program will evaluate the feasibility of delivering the required four doses of RTS,S, the impact of RTS,S on lives saved and the safety of the vaccine in the context of routine use.

“The pilot deployment of this first-generation vaccine marks a milestone in the fight against malaria,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme. “These pilot projects will provide the evidence we need from real-life settings to make informed decisions on whether to deploy the vaccine on a wide scale.”

The vaccine is proposed as a tool to complement the existing package of WHO-recommended malaria preventive, diagnostic and treatment measures. Vaccinations are due to begin in 2018.