Breakthrough in malaria vaccine development
Phase III trial results confirm RTS,S protects against clinical and severe malaria in African children
Swiss TPH Results from a phase III trial of the malaria vaccine candidate RTS,S were published in the New England Journal of Medicine today (doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1102287, October 18, 2011, at NEJM.org.), revealing major advances toward the development of a malaria vaccine. The large-scale, multi-centre study shows that efficacy of the vaccine candidate against episodes of clinical malaria is 55.8% and that the vaccine is well tolerated by children. The trial was conducted in 11 clinical research centres across 7 African countries, and included major contributions from the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in Tanzania in collaboration with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH, an associated institute of the University of Basel, Switzerland). Professor Marcel Tanner, Director of Swiss TPH, and Dr. Salim Abdulla, Director of IHI co-lead the trial in Bagamoyo and are among the lead authors of the article.
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