Initial Phase 3 results show vaccine candidate reduces malaria by half in African children 5-17 months old

First results from a large-scale Phase 3 trial of RTS,S, published online October 18, 2011, in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), show the malaria vaccine candidate as providing young African children with significant protection against clinical and severe malaria with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile. The results were presented at a Malaria Forum hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington.

African researchers at forefront of partnership

A product development partnership involving the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals—and with top African researchers at the forefront—is conducting the Phase 3 efficacy trial of RTS,S.

Click on the sites in the map below to learn more about our partners in Africa.

Map of RTS,S sites. Nanoro, Burkina Faso Kintampo, Ghana Kumasi/Agogo, Ghana Lambarene, Gabon Manhica, Mozambique Lilongwe, Malawi Bagamoyo, Tanzania Korogwe, Tanzania Kilifi, Kenya Siaya, Kenya Kombewa, Kenya

Trial sites

The RTS,S Phase 3 efficacy trial is ongoing in seven African countries.

Nanoro, Burkina Faso
Principal Investigator: Tinto Halidou
Co-Principal Investigator: Umberto D'Alessandro
Children enrolled: 1,281
Partner: Institut de Recherche en Science de la Sante/Centre Muraz (IRSS-DRO)

Read the spotlight: Dr. Tinto Halidou, malaria vaccine researcher and advocate.

Lambaréné, Gabon
Principal Investigator: Selidji Agnandji (Maxime)
Co-Principal Investigator: Bertrand Lell
Children enrolled: 930
Partner: Albert Schweitzer Hospital (HAS)

Kumasi/Agogo, Ghana
Principal Investigator: Daniel Ansong
Co-Principal Investigator: Tsiri Agbenyega
Children enrolled: 1,288
Partner: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST

Read the feature: Ghanaian scientist mixes malaria vaccine research with grassroots practicality.

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Kintampo, Ghana
Principal Investigator: Seth Owusu-Agyei
Co-Principal Investigator: Kwakupaku Asante
Children enrolled: 1,334
Partner: Kintampo Health Research Center (KHRC)

Total study population (15,460)
Children 5 months to 17 months old (8,923)
Children 6 weeks to 12 weeks old (6,537)
Enrollment period: May 26, 2009 to January 31, 2011

Kilifi, Kenya
Principal Investigator: Patricia Njuguna
Co-Principal Investigator: Kevin Marsh
Children enrolled: 904
Partner: KEMRI Wellcome Collaborative Research Programme

Read the feature: African malaria vaccine researcher discusses late-stage clinical trial.

Read the feature: How to decide when to take a malaria vaccine to Africa.

Kombewa, Kenya
Principal Investigator: Walter Otieno
Co-Principal Investigator: Lucas Otieno
Children enrolled: 1,631
Partner: KEMRI/Walter Reid Army Institute of Research

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Siaya, Kenya
Principal Investigator: Mary Hamel
Co-Principal Investigator: Simon Kariuki
Children enrolled: 1,620
Partner: KEMRI/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Read the feature: Kenya's Siaya District Hospital improves health care thanks to malaria vaccine studies.

Lilongwe, Malawi
Principal Investigator: Francis Martinson
Co-Principal Investigator: Irving Hoffman
Children enrolled: 1,626
Partner: University of North Carolina (UNC) Project

Read the feature: Malawi villagers caught in cycle of debilitating routines.

Manhiça, Mozambique
Principal Investigator: Pedro Alonso
Co-Principal Investigator: Jahit Sacarlal
Children enrolled: 1,637
Partner: Centro de InvestigaƧao em Saude de ManhiƧa (CISM)

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Bagamoyo, Tanzania
Principal Investigator: Salim Abdulla
Co-Principal Investigator: Marcel Tanner
Children enrolled: 1,705
Partner: Ifakara Health Institute (IHI)

Read the feature: World's most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate enters Phase 3 testing.

Read the feature: Full enrollment achieved in large-scale Phase 3 malaria vaccine candidate trial.

Korogwe, Tanzania
Principal Investigator: John Lusingu
Co-Principal Investigator: Samwel Gesase
Children enrolled: 1,505
Partner: Joint Malaria Programme (JMP), National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR)

Read the feature: Working to develop a malaria vaccine.

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