Question: Explain why it has been proven difficult to develop a vaccine for malaria? Answer: There are a number of reasons why it has been difficult to develop a commercially practical and widely available vaccine against malaria. Most vaccines work by priming the immune system to identify and attack the disease when it enters the body. This is usually achieved by killing or weakening the … [Read more...]
WHO to Test Malaria Vaccine in Africa
The World Health Organization reported the agency would begin testing a promising malaria vaccine in October to see if it should be used in African countries affected by the parasitic disease. WHO said it would issue its recommendations in November. It called the development of this possible vaccine a major milestone, noting this is the first time that a malaria vaccine has been reviewed by … [Read more...]
RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Phase III Trial Results Show Promise, Though Diminished Effectiveness Over Time
Final results from a large-scale Phase III trial of the RTS,S malaria vaccine candidate, including the impact of a booster dose, published today in The Lancet, show that the vaccine candidate helped protect children and infants from clinical malaria for at least three years after first vaccination. … [Read more...]
GlaxoSmithKline Applies for Approval of RTS,S Malaria Vaccine
A “pretty good” malaria vaccine is on track to be the first to market. It only prevents infection about one-quarter to one-half the time, so it’s not as good as most vaccines. But for a disease like malaria, which kills 600,000 people a year, “pretty good” may be good enough. GlaxoSmithKline has applied for regulatory approval for its RTS,S vaccine. Partial protection A new 18-month study in … [Read more...]
GlaxoSmithKline Seeks to Market RTS,S Malaria Vaccine
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline is seeking approval to market the world's first malaria vaccine, after trials showed that it significantly cut cases of the disease in children. Results from latest clinical trial of the RTS,S vaccine were unveiled at a conference in Durban, South Africa on Tuesday. It showed that after 18 months of follow-up, the vaccine halved the number of malaria cases … [Read more...]
Phase III Trial of RTS,S Malaria Candidate Vaccine Reduces Malaria by One Third
Results from a pivotal, large-scale Phase III trial, published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that the RTS,S malaria vaccine candidate can help protect African infants against malaria. When compared to immunization with a control vaccine, infants (aged 6-12 weeks at first vaccination) vaccinated with RTS,S had one-third fewer episodes of both clinical and severe malaria … [Read more...]
GlaxoSmithKline Malaria Vaccine Candidate Results Disappointing
The latest clinical trial of the world’s leading malaria vaccine candidate produced disappointing results on Friday. The infants it was given to had only about a third fewer infections than a control group. Three shots of the vaccine, known as RTS, S or Mosquirix and produced by GlaxoSmithKline, gave babies fewer than 12 weeks old 31 percent protection against detectable malaria and 37 percent … [Read more...]
Malaria Prophylaxis – Delaware
QUESTION Where can I get vaccinated for malaria in Wilmington, DE? ANSWER Currently there is no vaccine for preventing malaria. However, there are a number of ways to prevent malaria. These can be placed into two categories: medication and vector protection. For medication, there are drugs you can take to prevent the malaria parasite from developing after being bitten by an infected … [Read more...]
First in Malaria: U.S. or China?
QUESTION Who discovered the world's first malaria vaccine? Is it the US marines in Washington DC or the People's Republic of China? ANSWER Unfortunately there is still no effective malaria vaccine. You might be referring to the race between the US and China to find an effective malarial treatment during the Vietnam War years. Currently, artemisinins, from the wormwood plant, discovered … [Read more...]
Malaria Vaccine
QUESTION For how long does this vaccine work? ANSWER There is not yet a commercially available vaccine against malaria. Recently, results were published (in the New England Journal of Medicine - press releases and news reports about the study are available through the main page of www.malaria.com) presenting preliminary findings of the first Phase 3 clinical trial for a vaccine, called … [Read more...]