NAIROBI, Nov. 4, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- A pivotal efficacy trial of RTS,S, the world's most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, is now underway in seven African countries.
The trial, which is expected to involve up to 16,000 children, is on schedule, with more than 5,000 children already enrolled, researchers announced late Tuesday at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan-African Malaria Conference underway in Nairobi.
The trial is underway in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
The health experts were optimistic that the malaria vaccine could be made available to African governments by the year 2012.
Sirima Sodiomon of the National Centre for Research and Malaria Training in Burkina Faso said that the vaccine targeted the African continent because it was the most prone to the Malaria epidemic.
He said the efficacy rate of the vaccine was expected to be about 30-50 percent. "We need to continue with the research and may be the second generation vaccine which may come up in five to six years may have a higher efficacy rate of about 80-90 percent," Sodiomon said.
He said researchers were now on the third phase of trials which was the most crucial and involved large number of people for the clinical tests and this would have 16,000 children, 5,000 of whom would be from Kenya.
"Vaccines are one of the best ways to protect against any disease but currently we don't have any efficacy vaccine but at least we hope to have this one which will protect from 30-50 percent and then compliment it with other strategies like bed nets, " the medic said.
GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' (GSK Bio) RTS,S is the first malaria vaccine candidate to demonstrate significant efficacy during early development to warrant Phase III testing.
It is the leading vaccine candidate in the global effort by the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) to develop a malaria vaccine.
"A malaria vaccine could help save countless lives and redefine the future for Africa's children," said Dr.
