Malaria is a fatal disease that kills around 584,000 people worldwide, and most of them are children under five.
The European medicines agency gave a positive assessing of its safety and effectiveness after the Mosquirik jab, developed by GlaxoSmithKline was tested for trials. The World Health Organization will consider if it’s suitable for the children since trails have brought in mixed results.
The company has not revealed the price of this vaccine, but they have promised not to make a profit out of it.
This vaccine is designed to fight off Malaria infection in children and is still not licensed for travelers. Earlier this year, clinical trials in 7 African countries brought various results.
The vaccine worked best for children aged 5 to 17 months, who received three dosages of the vaccine at the interval of every month, plus a booster dosage at 20 months.
Although the vaccine worked with the booster, the jab did not prove useful in severe Malaria cases.
WHO, was in a constant dilemma after mixed results, because it was not as effective as scientists would have hoped.
Furthermore, results show that all four jabs were crucial for the patient to benefit.
GSK began research on Malaria vaccine 30 years ago, and the first trials in Africa started in 1998.
The company GSK later collaborated with PATH malaria vaccine initiative through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the research process and vaccine development.
Professor Adrian Hill of the Jenner Institution, Oxford said he was pleased and encouraged by the EMA’S decision, but he added that it was not a magical pill and that a bed net is more effective than the vaccine. But it is a very,y significant building block towards much more effective Malaria vaccines.
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