- James Gallagher
- BBC science and medical reporter
Ghana has become the first country to approve a new malaria vaccine that the scientists behind it have described as “world-changing”.
The vaccine called R21 appears to be very effective, which differs sharply from previous projects in the same field.
Regulators of the pharmaceutical sector in Ghana evaluated the final experimental data on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, which has not yet been released, and decided to use it.
Malaria kills regarding 620,000 people each year, most of them young children.
For a century, scientists have worked on a massive scientific project to develop a vaccine that protects the body once morest malaria parasites.
Trial data from preliminary studies in Burkina Faso showed that the R21 vaccine was up to 80% effective when given as three initial doses, followed by a booster dose a year later.
But expanding use of the vaccine is dependent on the results of a larger trial involving nearly 5,000 children.
It was expected to be conducted at the end of last year, but the results of the experiments have not yet been officially published. However, it has been seen by some government agencies in Africa and scholars.
I haven’t seen the final data, but I’m told it shows similar results to previous studies.
The Ghana Food and Drug Authority, which has seen the data, has approved the vaccine for use in children between the ages of five months and three years.
Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford, where the vaccine was developed, says African countries say they will “decide”, following their access to Covid-19 vaccines was delayed during the pandemic.
“We expect R21 to have a significant impact on child malaria mortality in the coming years, and in the long term,” Hill told me. [ستساهم] with the overall ultimate goal of malaria eradication and elimination.
The Serum Institute of Serums in India is preparing to produce between 100-200 million doses annually, with a vaccine plant set up in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
Each dose of the R21 vaccine is expected to cost a few dollars.
“Developing a vaccine to effectively affect such a large number of patients has been very challenging,” said Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute.
He added that Ghana, as the first country to approve the vaccine, marks a “milestone in our efforts to combat malaria worldwide”.
