BackMalaria kills a child every minute, Oxford vaccine data raises hope
Malaria disease is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity although new data from Oxford University elevate hopes
PremiumAs malaria disease is on a global killing spree- killing a child every minute, new data on malaria vaccine is elevating hopes in fight against the disease. The new data from Oxford University is a boost for global efforts against the mosquito-borne virus. The disease kills about 600,000 a year despite spending around $3 billion annually on insecticides, bednets and anti-malarial drugs.
Oxford scientist Adrian Hill informed that the vaccine R21/Matrix-M by Oxford University is more effective than Mosquirix, a vaccine recently endorsed by WHO, made by British drugmaker GSK.
The scientist also cited a manufacturing advantage for Oxford vaccine in form of a deal with the Serum Institute of India to produce 200 million doses annually from 2023.
Meanwhile, Mosquirix maker GSK has committed to producing up to 15 million doses of the vaccine every year through 2028, well under the 100 million doses of the four-dose vaccine. The WHO believes the vaccine is needed in long term to cover around 25 million children.
GSK is expected more international donations in order to expand the production of the essential vaccine.
Data from the mid-stage study of R21/Matrix-M was published on Wednesday and conducted on more than 400 young children who received a fourth dose of the vaccine after three primary doses.
"A booster dose of R21/Matrix-M at 1 year following the primary three-dose regimen maintained high efficacy against first and multiple episodes of clinical malaria. Furthermore, the booster vaccine-induced antibody concentrations correlated with vaccine efficacy. The trial is ongoing to assess long-term follow-up of these participants and the value of further booster vaccinations," the interpretation of the report published in the Lancet said.
After 12 months following the fourth dose, vaccine effectiveness was 80% in the group that received a higher dose of the immune-boosting adjuvant component of the vaccine. The effectiveness of the vaccine was 70% in the lower-dose adjuvant group.
Interestingly, the doses were administered ahead of peak malaria season in Burkina Faso.
Adrian Hill also informs that the complicated structure and lifecycle of the malaria parasite have long thwarted any attempts to develop an effective vaccine. GSK's Mosquirix was conceived in 1980 and paved the way for Oxford University to develop a more robust malaria vaccine.
As data from an ongoing Phase III trial for the Oxford shot which involves 4800 participants is still not out, the comparison between both the vaccines is not feasible.
Late-stage trials of Mosquirix also show promising results when the vaccine is administered before a peak malaria season in high transmission areas. The vaccine effectiveness was nearly 63%.
"Administration of RTS,S/AS01E (Mosquirix) was non-inferior to chemoprevention in preventing uncomplicated malaria. The combination of these interventions resulted in a substantially lower incidence of uncomplicated malaria, severe malaria, and death from malaria than either intervention alone," said the study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
"Comparisons between the two vaccines at this stage must be tentative, given they have not yet been compared head-to-head in the same trial," said David Conway from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Alister Craig from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine also cleared that the Phase II trials indicate Oxford shot is a step forward from Mosquirix and has improved efficacy with better retention of immunity.
Hoping to get endorsed by next year, Oxford will soon submit the Phase III data to WHO.
With Inputs from Reuters.
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