NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre

Enabling translational research through partnership

MENUMENU
  • About
    • About the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre
    • Activities during COVID-19
    • Strategic Partnership Board
    • Steering Committee
    • Promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Research
    • Current Vacancies
    • Contact Us
    • Stay in Touch
  • Research

        • Research Overview
        • Clinical Research Facility
        • 15 Research Themes

        • Cancer
        • Cardiovascular Medicine
        • Digital Health from Hospital to Home
        • Gene and Cell Therapy
        • Genomic Medicine
        • Imaging
        • Inflammation across Tissues
        • Life-saving Vaccines
        • Metabolic Experimental Medicine
        • Modernising Medical Microbiology and Big Infection Diagnostics
        • Musculoskeletal
        • Preventive Neurology
        • Respiratory Medicine
        • Surgical Innovation, Technology and Evaluation
        • Translational Data Science
  • Patient & Public Involvement
    • Getting involved with research
    • View and register for involvement opportunities
    • Patient & Public Groups
    • Patient and Public Involvement Advisory Group
    • Diversity in Research Group
    • Oxford Blood Group
    • Case Studies
    • PPIE Strategy
    • PPIE News
    • PPI Researcher Guidance
    • Researchers: Post a PPIE opportunity
  • Training Hub
    • Training Hub Overview
    • Clinical Academic Pathway
    • Internships
    • Preparatory Research Fellowships
    • Senior Research Fellowships
    • Research Training Bursaries
    • Doctoral Awards
    • Post-Doctoral Awards
    • Other funding
    • Leadership Training
    • Useful Links
    • Training and Education Resources
    • Upcoming Training Events & Courses
  • Industry
    • Collaborate with Oxford BRC
    • Who Do We Work With?
    • Events
    • Further Information and Additional Resources
    • Contacts for Industry
  • Videos
  • News
  • Events

News

You are here: Home > Life-saving Vaccines > Malaria vaccine becomes first to achieve WHO-specified 75% efficacy goal

Malaria vaccine becomes first to achieve WHO-specified 75% efficacy goal

26 April 2021 · Listed under Life-saving Vaccines

Researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners have reported that a malaria vaccine they are developing has proved to be 77% effective in early trials.

Picture: University of Oxford

The findings of the Phase IIb randomised, controlled, double-blind trial, posted on SSRN/Preprints with The Lancet, show the candidate malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, demonstrated high-level efficacy over 12-months of follow-up, and is the first to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap goal of a vaccine with at least 75% efficacy.

The researchers from the university’s Jenner Institute are supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

The trial was conducted in Burkina Faso. There were 450 participants, aged 5-17 months from 24 villages in the Nanoro area of the country.

The participants were split into three groups, with the first two groups receiving the R21/Matrix-M (with either a low dose or high dose of the Matrix-M adjuvant) and the third, a rabies vaccine as the control group. Doses were administered from early May 2019 to early August 2019, largely prior to the peak malaria season.

The researchers report a vaccine efficacy of 77% in the higher-dose adjuvant group, and 71% in the lower dose adjuvant group, over 12 months of follow-up, with no serious adverse events related to the vaccine noted.

Following these results, the Phase IIb trial, which was funded by the EDCTP2 programme supported by the European Union (grant number RIA2016V-1649-MMVC), was extended with a booster vaccination administered prior to the next malaria season one year later.

There were229 million cases of clinical malaria reported in 2019. The WHO estimates that malaria causes over 400,000 deaths around the world each year, and says that progress in reducing malaria mortality has stalled in recent years. Most deaths are amongst children in Africa where very high transmission rates are found in many countries.

Over 100 malaria vaccine candidates have entered clinical trials over recent decades but none has shown the >75% efficacy targeted by the WHO.

Recruitment has now started for a Phase III licensure trial to assess large-scale safety and efficacy in 4,800 children, aged 5-36 months, across four African countries.

Professor Adrian Hill (left), Director of the Jenner Institute and the Oxford BRC’s Theme Lead for Vaccines, said: “These new results support our high expectations for the potential of this vaccine, which we believe is the first to reach the WHO’s goal of a vaccine for malaria with at least 75% efficacy.

“With the commitment by our commercial partner, the Serum Institute of India, to manufacture at least 200 million doses annually in the coming years, the vaccine has the potential to have major public health impact if licensure is achieved.”

Lynsey Bilsland, from Wellcome, which helped fund the research, said: “Despite global efforts against malaria, too many lives are still lost to this disease, especially babies and young children. Vaccines could change this.  This is an extremely promising result showing high efficacy of a safe, low-cost, scalable vaccine designed to reach the huge numbers of children who are most at risk of the devastating impact of Malaria. Whilst further studies are required, this marks a significant and exciting step forward on an critical global health challenge.”

← National survey reveals big reductions in COVID-19 infections with single dose of Oxford-AZ and Pfizer vaccines
Oxford BRC researchers named among new Academy of Medical Sciences fellows →

Other news

News Categories

News by Month

See all news

Subscribe to the Oxford BRC Newsletter

Keep informed about the work of the Oxford BRC by subscribing to our Mailchimp e-newsletter. It is produced several times a year and delivers news and information about upcoming events straight to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Oxford BRC on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Feedback

We’d love to hear your feedback. Please contact us at obrcenquiries@ouh.nhs.uk

  • Data Control and Privacy
  • Accessibility
  • Our Partners
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre