First malaria vaccine works in major trial

Most deaths in India are of children under the age of five.

An experimental vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline halved the risk of African children getting malaria in a major clinical trial,making it likely to become the worlds first shot against the disease.

Final-stage trial data released Tuesday showed it gave protection against clinical and severe malaria in 5- to 17-month-olds in Africa. These data bring us to the cusp of having the worlds first malaria vaccine, said Andrew Witty,chief executive of the British drugmaker that developed the vaccine along with the non-profit PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI).

While hailing an unprecedented achievement,Witty,malaria scientists and global health experts stressed that the vaccine known as RTS,S or Mosquirix was no quick fix for eradicating malaria. The new shot is less effective than others against common infections like polio and measles.

We would have wished that we could wipe it out,but I think this is going to contribute to the control of malaria rather than wiping it out, Tsiri Agbenyega,a principal investigator in the RTS,S trials in Ghana,told Reuters at a conference in Seattle about the disease.

Malaria is endemic in more than 100 countries worldwide and killed around 781,000 people in 2009,according to the World Health Organisation. Most deaths in India are of children under the age of five.

Dr Sanjay Singh,CEO of Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd,which has been involved with MVI and hopes to launch an Indian malaria vaccine next year,described the news as very encouraging,and a sign that a malaria vaccine was possible. Reuters with ENS,Pune,Kate Kelland & Ben Hirschler