World's second malaria vaccine gets WHO approval

New Delhi: Serum Institute of India on Monday said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved a malaria vaccine, paving the way for the global roll-out of the world’s second such vaccine.

The recommendation is based on pre-clinical and clinical trial data which showed good safety and high efficacy in four countries, at sites with both seasonal and perennial malaria transmission making it the world’s second-ever WHO recommended vaccine for preventing malaria in children, SII said in a statement.

The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India (SII), leveraging Novavax’s adjuvant technology, has been recommended for use by the WHO. The vaccine is licensed to the Pune-based SII and the company has already established production capacity for 100 million doses per annum, which will be doubled over the next two years, it added. Currently, the vaccine has been licensed for use in Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.