Dive Brief:
- If approved by the European Medicines Agency, RTS,S will be the very approved malaria vaccine.
- RTS,S is intended for use only in sub-Saharan Africa.
- The EMA will collaborate with the World Health Organization (WHO) in order to review RTS,S.
Dive Insight:
RTS,S has been developed for use against the Plasmodium Falciparum parasite. In June, Biopharma Dive reported on some of the challenges associated with treating and eradicating malaria, which affects approximately 207 million people worldwide and kills roughly 627,000 people, most of whom are children. All told, 90% of malaria-related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
Phase III trials were conducted in research centers in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambigue, Nigeria and Tanzania. So far, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has invested $350 million in the development of RTS, S, with another $260 million slated for further investment. In addition, the company received $200 million from foundations. GSK is pricing the vaccine conservatively, with the goal of covering costs and generating a return of 5%.