BMY - Ghana 1st in world to approve new malaria vaccine by Oxford

2023-04-14 05:32:00 ET

Ghana became the first country globally to approve a new malaria vaccine developed by the Oxford University, BBC reported.

Ghana's Food and Drugs Authority approved the vaccine, dubbed R21, for use in children between five months to three years old.

The African country's regulator approved the vaccine after evaluating final data, which has not yet been made public.

Data from preliminary studies in Burkina Faso demonstrated that the vaccine was up to 80% effective when given as three initial doses, and a booster a year later.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is also thinking of approving the vaccine, the report added.

However, wider use of the vaccine depends on data from a larger study involving about 5,000 children, according to the report.

Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford, who developed the vaccine said, "We expect R21 to make a major impact on malaria mortality in children in the coming years, and in the longer term [it] will contribute to overall final goal of malaria eradication and elimination."

The Serum Institute of India will manufacture the vaccine and expects to produce 100M to 200M doses per year, with a facility being built in Accra, Ghana.

Each dose of the vaccine is anticipated to cost a couple of dollars.

According to a WHO report , the WHO African Region has a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2021, the Region had 95% of malaria cases and 96% of malaria deaths.

Children under the age of five accounted for about 80% of all malaria deaths in the Region.

In 2021, the WHO had recommended a wider rollout of GSK's ( NYSE: GSK ) malaria vaccine Mosquirix across much of Africa after success of a pilot program in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease which is spread to humans by certain types of mosquitoes.

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