Malaria vaccine becomes first to achieve WHO-specified 75 per cent efficacy goal
Vaccine candidate potential for large-scale manufacturing and low-cost supply
Researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners have reported findings from a Phase IIb trial of a candidate malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, which demonstrated high-level efficacy of 77 per cent over 12-months of follow-up.
In their findings, posted on SSRN/Preprints with
The Lancet, they noted that they were the first to meet the World Health Organization’s Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap goal of a vaccine with at least 75 per cent efficacy.
“These new results support our high expectations for the potential of this vaccine, which we believe is the first to reach the WHO’s goal of a vaccine for malaria with at least 75 per cent efficacy,” said Prof. Adrian Hill, Director of the Jenner Institute and Lakshmi Mittal and Family Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford.
A new malaria vaccine developed by researchers at Oxford University and partners is the first to have achieved the World Health Organization (WHO) roadmap efficacy goal of 75 percent, marking a turning point for a potential malaria vaccine to make it into the arms of those that need it in the near future.
Malaria remains a daunting global health concern. Figures by the WHO have shown that in 2019 alone 229 million cases were reported around to world, with an estimated 409,000 deaths due to the mosquito-borne infectious disease. Children under the age of 5 are the most vulnerable, accounting for 67 percent of the global deaths in 2019 alone.
Published: Apr 23, 2021
Vaccine candidate demonstrates high efficacy at 77% in a study of children aged 5-17 months conducted in Africa
Novavax Matrix-M™ adjuvant used in combination with University of Oxford malaria vaccine candidate, R21, and developed in collaboration with Serum Institute of India
Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate safety and efficacy begun in 4,800 participants aged 5-36 months
GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/
Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced the pre-print publication of data from a Phase 2b clinical trial in children demonstrating 77 percent efficacy for a malaria vaccine candidate, R21, created by the University of Oxford that includes Novavax Matrix-M™ adjuvant and is licensed to Serum Institute of India (SII). Published online in
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Researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners have today reported findings from a Phase IIb trial of a candidate malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, which demonstrated high-level efficacy of 77% over 12-months of follow-up. In their findings (posted on SSRN/Preprints with
The Lancet) they note that they are the first to meet the World Health Organization s Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap goal of a vaccine with at least 75% efficacy.
The authors report (in findings in press with
The Lancet) from a Phase IIb randomised, controlled, double-blind trial conducted at the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN) / Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Burkina Faso. 450 participants, aged 5-17 months, were recruited from the catchment area of Nanoro, covering 24 villages and an approximate population of 65,000 people.
The malaria vaccine test raises hopes of overcoming the disease
The test against a new malaria vaccine at Oxford University indicates that it is 77 per cent effective, far better than the existing shots to prevent one of the world’s deadliest diseases.
The owner, known as R21, is the first to be able to pass a vaccine that could exceed the World Health Organization’s goal of at least 75 percent effectiveness by 2030. Mosquirix, the first malaria vaccine to be launched in early 2015, required GSK to take more than 30 years to develop and 39 percent effective for four years.
In phase 2b of R21 – in the middle phase – participants in a group of higher doses were 77% less likely to develop malaria in the 12-month follow-up than those who received a rage as a control. Those who received a lower dose of the vaccine helper were 71 percent less likely to develop the disease. There were no serious side effects.