The first big clinical trial of a malaria vaccine is about to start in Africa. After more than 20 years in research and development, the RTS,S vaccine will be given to some 14,000 babies and children in seven countries over the next two or three years.
RTS,S is the grandaddy of malaria vaccines and the only one so far to have received sufficient funding to begin a Phase III clinical trial. It has received an estimated $400m so far from GlaxoSmithKline, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other sources.
