Agents Under Development
A completely effective vaccine is not yet available for malaria, although several vaccines are under development. SPf66 was tested extensively in endemic areas in the 1990s, but clinical trials showed it to be insufficiently effective. Other vaccine candidates, targeting the blood-stage of the parasite's life cycle, have also been insufficient on their own. Several potential vaccines targeting the pre-erythrocytic stage are being developed, with RTS,S showing the most promising results so far.
RTS,S/AS01 (commercial name: Mosquirix), was engineered using genes from the outer protein of Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite and a portion of a hepatitis B virus plus a chemical adjuvant to boost the immune system response. It is being developed by PATH and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In November 2012 a Phase III trial of RTS,S found that it provided modest protection against both clinical and severe malaria in young infants.
Read more about this topic: Malaria Vaccine
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