A candidate vaccine for malaria, developed by scientists at the University of Oxford, is 77 percent effective. This is what the researchers say in a study that has not yet been assessed by colleagues.
450 children between 5 and 17 months old from Burkina Faso took part. They were divided into three groups. Two received the vaccine with different doses of an excipient, the control group received a rabies vaccine.
The vaccine was 77 percent effective in the group with the higher dose of excipient, and 71 percent in the group with the lower dose. The researchers say that these are the first results that meet the World Health Organization goal for at least 75 percent effectiveness. The researchers want to publish the results in the scientific journal The Lancet.
It will also take a while before more is clear: the researchers are now in four African countries recruiting 4800 children between the ages of five months and three years for their so-called phase-3 study, the last phase necessary for the vaccine. can appear on the market.
The Indian Serum Institute plans to produce 200 million doses annually in the coming years, the university reports.
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