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A trial of an Oxford University malaria vaccine indicated that it was 77% effective, significantly better than existing vaccines in preventing one of the world’s deadliest diseases.
The punch, known as R21, is the first that could exceed the World Health Organization’s goal of an available vaccine with at least 75% effectiveness by 2030. Mosquirix, the first malaria vaccine, which was initially rolled out in 2015, took more than 30 years to develop at GSK and was ready 39 percent effective for four years.
In phase 2b – medium phase – R21 trial, participants in a group with higher doses were 77% less likely to develop malaria for 12 months of follow-up than those who received an anti-rabies shot as a control. Those receiving a lower adjuvant dose of the vaccine were 71% less likely to develop the disease. There were no serious side effects.
The study inoculated 450 children aged five to 17 months in Burkina Faso.
Oxford researchers, working with the Indian Serum Institute and the US vaccine manufacturer Novavax, have already launched a phase 3 trial to test the vaccine in a larger population. Existing participants have also been given a reinforcing shot.
The recombinant fusion protein vaccine combined an antigen that indicated the immune system, with Novavax’s Matrix-M adjuvant to increase efficacy. Novavax also uses the adjuvant in its Covid-19 vaccine, which was a phase 3 trial. 89% effective.
Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute in Oxford, who helped develop the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, co-authored the draft document describing the data from the R21 trial. He said the results supported his “high expectations” for the vaccine.
“With the commitment of our business partner, the Serum Institute of India, to manufacture at least 200m of annual doses in the coming years, the vaccine can have a significant impact on public health if the license is obtained, ”Hill said.
Malaria causes more than 400,000 deaths a year, mostly among children in Africa. In 2019, about 229 million clinical cases of the disease were reported.
But it has been a struggle to find a vaccine to fight the disease, with more than 100 candidates examined in clinical trials.
Halidou Tinto, regional director of the Nanoro Department of Health Sciences Research Institute, Burkina Faso, and principal investigator of the process, said he hoped to demonstrate large-scale effectiveness in the phase 3 process.
“These are very exciting results that show unprecedented levels of effectiveness of a vaccine that has been well tolerated in our testing program,” he said.
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