NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Saturday, July 2, 2016

LONDON – The world’s first malaria vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, provides some protection after three doses but its effect dwindles to almost nothing after seven years, scientists said on Wednesday.

Publishing a long-term study of the vaccine – called RTS,S or Mosquirix and designed for children in Africa where the disease claims most of its victims – researchers said the decline in its efficacy over time is fastest in children living in areas with higher than average rates of malaria. This raises questions about whether Mosquirix can play a meaningful role in fighting malaria, they said, and suggests a four-dose schedule would be needed if it were used.

“The results suggest that the implementation of RTS,S will need to be considered carefully and in a way that takes into account different levels of malaria exposure,” said Mike Turner, head of infections at the Wellcome Trust global health charity which helped fund the research.