Oxford University develops malaria vaccine with 77% efficacy

A group at the University of Oxford and the Jenner Institute said on Friday their investigational malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, demonstrated 77 percent efficacy in children after 12 months of follow-up.

The vaccine was developed by the University of Oxford and utilized Novavax’s Matrix-M adjuvant.

It is licensed to Serum Institute of India (SII).

The same group also developed the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine

The vaccine is the first to meet the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap goal, a minimum of 75 percent efficacy.

The study, according to a statement by the university, was conducted at the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN/Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sante (IRRS), Burkina Faso.

READ ALSO: Nigeria needs N1.89trn to tackle malaria – Health minister

“There were 450 participants between the ages of five and 17 months who were recruited from the catchment area of Nanoro, which comprises 24 villages and a population of about 65,000,” it added.

Malaria kills more than 400,000 people yearly in sub-Saharan Africa

The Nigerian government had said on Friday it would need at least $1.89 trillion to effectively combat malaria in the country.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who disclosed this at a press conference to commemorate the 2021 World Malaria Day in Abuja, noted that the country required more than N350 billion to fight the disease in 2021 alone.

He said: “The implementation of the new strategic plan will cost N1.89 trillion; about N352 billion is required for the year 2021 programme implementation.”

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