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Malaria vaccine expected in 2011
Kintampo, (B/A), Jan. 8, GNA - A health expert announced
that scientists have targeted 2011, for the introduction of
RTS,S (rpt RTS,S) malaria vaccine, which was currently going
through clinical trials, for use in Ghana and across Africa
to control malaria.
Dr Seth Owusu-Agyei, Director of the Kintampo Health
Research Centre (KHRC) in the Brong Ahafo Region, said Ghana
was one of six African countries currently taking part in
the phase two trials of the vaccine.
He was speaking during an interaction with journalists drawn
from the African Media and Malaria Research Network, to
acquaint themselves with the trials in the region, at the
weekend.
Dr Owusu-Agyei stressed that if the trials prove successful
after further scientific research, it was expected that by
2011, the RTS,S would be available for use in Ghana and
across Africa.
He said the challenge, however, was how to make the vaccine
available for use at a lower cost since millions of dollars
were being spent on the trials by various collaborators
including the drug company, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in
Belgium, which developed the vaccine.
Dr Owusu-Agyei said the trials were being conducted under
the Malaria Clinical Trials Alliance (MCTA), an African-led
institution set up to conduct research into malaria.
He announced that the Kintampo Health Research Centre and
the Kumasi Center For Collaborative Research at Agogo in the
Ashanti Region, were conducting the trials on 540 children
aged between five and 17 months, and it would last for 20
months.
Dr Owusu-Agyei said by 2010, trials would be expanded to
cover more children to enable research scientists gather
enough information required for licensing by regulatory
bodies for the use of the vaccine.
The research, which began in September, last year, in Ghana,
was aimed at primarily assessing the safety of the vaccine.
It is expected that more children would be tested in the
phase three trial, when the efficacy of the vaccine would be
tested by 2008 if the phase two trial, becomes successful.
MCTA, funded with 17-million dollar grant from the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation is made up of scientists within and
outside Africa.
Eight MCTA sites in six African countries, are involved in
the phase two trials. The countries are Ghana, Mozambique,
Gabon, Kenya, Senegal and Tanzania.
A version of RTS,S vaccine was tested on 100 adult
volunteers in the United States and 85 adults in Kenya and
found to be safe.
It has already been administered on about 2000 children aged
one to four years in Mozambique, and the results indicated
that 18 months after the children were vaccinated, the risk
of getting malaria was lowered by one third, and the risk of
severe malaria reduced by about one half.
Results also showed that the protective effect of the
malaria vaccine did not wane 24 months after the vaccine was
administered.
The RTS,S vaccine was created in 1987 and developed by
GlaxoSmithKline, (GSK) Biologicals, vaccine manufacturers in
Belgium.
GNA
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