Afronline – The Voice Of Africa

British based institute GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said it is very close to developing the world’s first malaria vaccine.

GSK together with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), through its newly acquired Dutch unit Crucell, plan to start a clinical trial using the so-called “prime-boost” vaccine within the next couple of months.

The new vaccine is an amended version of the current GSK shot that adds an engineered common cold virus developed by Crucell to “prime” the immune system to get a stronger response.

Patients will get a single dose of Crucell’s weakened virus vaccine, followed by two doses of Mosquirix.

GSK chief executive Andrew Witty said that: “If its initial vaccine proved effective, it would be sold at an affordable price for those who need it most.”

The company is planning a profit margin of 5 percent over the cost of making the vaccine, saying this would be reinvested in new vaccines for malaria and other neglected diseases.

The new vaccine will be seen as a relief to sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is the most widespread disease. About 90 per cent of the world’s 300 to 500 million malaria cases and 3 million deaths, due to the disease, occur in Africa.

The project is being carried out in collaboration with PATH non-profit organisation based in the USA. Through the Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) the organisation seeks to accelerate the development of malaria vaccines and ensure their availability and accessibility in the developing world.

“This new collaboration, though in the early stages, gives us the opportunity to test an approach with the potential to substantially increase efficacy and move us closer to the internationally agreed upon goal of an 80 percent effective second-generation vaccine by 2025.” Christian Loucq director of MVI told Reuters.

“We are at an important moment in malaria vaccine development. For the first time, we have a malaria vaccine in late phase development…” he said.

By Staff writer: Afronline

Sources: PATH, Seattlepi, Reuters

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