Another Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise

The R21/MM vaccine was highly immunogenic and exhibited 77% efficacy against clinical malaria in African children.

The only malaria vaccine in use, RTS,S/AS01, has modest efficacy (NEJM JW Infect Dis Jun 2015 and Lancet 2015; 386:31), prompting a search for alternatives. R21 is a circumsporozoite protein-based vaccine that has been combined with the saponin-based adjuvant Matrix-M (MM). Investigators conducted a phase 2b trial of R21/MM in 450 children (age range, 5–17 months) in an area of Burkina Faso with seasonal malaria transmission. Participants were randomized to R21 plus 25 µg MM or 50 µg MM, or to rabies vaccine (control). All received 3 intramuscular injections at 4-week intervals before malaria season, followed by a single booster 1 year later.

At 6 months postimmunization, clinical malaria had developed in 29% of the low-MM group and 26% of t…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Another Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise

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Reviewing Author