Ghana becomes first to approve Oxford’s malaria vaccine

Ghana has become the first country in the world to approve a new malaria vaccine from Oxford University, with children under the age of three-years-old in line to benefit.

The mosquito-borne disease kills more than 600,000 people each year, most of them children in Africa, and scientists have been trying for years to develop vaccines.

The vaccine called R21 appears to be hugely effective in stark contrast to previous ventures in the same field.

Trial data from preliminary studies in Burkina Faso showed the R21 vaccine was up to 80 per cent effective when given as three initial doses, and a booster a year later.

It is unclear when the Oxford vaccine will be rolled out in Ghana.

Childhood vaccines in Africa are typically paid for by international organisations such as Gavi and UNICEF after they have been backed by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is still assessing the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.

However, Oxford scientist Adrian Hill said Ghana’s drug regulator has approved it for the age group at highest risk of death from malaria – children aged 5 months to 36 months. It has a deal with Serum Institute of India to produce up to 200 million doses annually.

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This is the first time a major vaccine has been approved first in an African country ahead of rich nations, Hill said.

It was unusual that a regulatory authority in Africa had reviewed the data quicker than the WHO, he added.

“Particularly since COVID, African regulators have been taking a much more proactive stance, they’ve been saying…we don’t want to be last in the queue,” Hill said.

The first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix from British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L), was endorsed by the WHO last year after decades of work. But a lack of funding and commercial potential thwarted the company’s capacity to produce as many dose as needed.