EMA approves world’s first malaria vaccine

London

The World’s first malaria vaccine has been approved by the European Medicines AgencyEMA) bringing hope to the epidemic hit countries in Africa, where children are the worst victims.

Scientists across Africa are celebrating the news that the world's first vaccine against malaria has been approved by the European Medicines Agency.

The vaccine, named Mosquirix, was given the green nod on Friday after more than 30 years of research, detailed in 230,000 pages of data. It now means that the vaccine will be examined by the World Health Organisation  and, if approved, could be administered to children across Africa within the next few years.

"It's massively significant," said Allan Pamba, vice president for pharmaceuticals in East Africa for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which has spent more than $356 million (£230m) to date on finding a vaccine. GSK expects to invest a further $200 to $250 million until development is completed. In January 2001, GSK and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, with grant monies from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to PATH, entered into a public-private partnership to develop a vaccine. PATH has invested more than $200 million, much of it from the Gateses.

"Malaria has been incredibly difficult to crack. It's been tremendously frustrating. But we are all immensely proud to have reached this milestone."

The WHO has said it may give a policy recommendation by the end of the year; African authorities will then take their decisions about how and where they would implement a vaccination programme.

But, given that an estimated 600,000 people die from malaria every year - 90 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa - Dr Pamba said the health ministers he spoke to on a regular basis were eagerly awaiting the arrival of a vaccine.