New malaria vaccine developed by British scientists proves highly effective

A NEW malaria vaccine developed by scientists in Britain has proved highly effective in a trial in babies.

Shots of R21/Matrix-M showed up to 77 per cent efficacy in a year-long trial involving 450 tots in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

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A University of Oxford team led by Adrian Hill — one of the researchers behind the Oxford-Astra-Zeneca Covid-19 jab — now plan to run final-stage trials.

These would involve 4,800 children aged between five months and three years in four African countries.

A mosquito-borne disease, malaria infects millions every year and kills over 400,000 — mostly children in the poorest parts of Africa.

Professor Hill, director of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, said he had “high expectations for the potential of this vaccine”.

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It would be the first to reach a World Health Organisation goal of a malaria shot with at least 75 per cent efficacy, he added.

The world’s only licensed malaria vaccine, Mosquirix was developed by Glaxo-SmithKline, but is only partially effective at around 30 per cent.