Results of African malaria vaccine trial expected later this year

The final phase of testing for GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' malaria vaccine, RTS,S, is underway in seven sub-Saharan African countries, and "[i]f the results, due to be released later this, year confirm the vaccine's efficacy in preventing malaria, it could be made available as early as 2015," IRIN reports.

"A malaria vaccine would not only save lives, it would also alleviate the great burden of the disease on health systems in economically stretched developing countries," IRIN writes (6/20). Christian Loucq, director of the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which is helping to fund the trials, "says the new vaccine … will be a major step toward getting rid of malaria. But for that to happen, he says, greater investment in research will be essential," VOA News notes (Sinha, 6/20).