The first malaria vaccine could be available in a year

After 31 years of research, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has filed for regulatory approval for the first-ever malaria vaccine–which also happens to be the first vaccine developed against a parasite. The clinical trial results of the vaccine, called RTS,S, have been encouraging. Malaria is an insidious and preventable disease, killing almost one child per minute. In high-risk areas, there’s more than one case per 1,000 people. Depending on who you talk to, insecticide-treated bednets prevent anywhere between 5% to 50% of cases, and efficacy is largely dependent on how consistently people use them. A vaccine–which requires no effort in patients beyond getting the initial shot–used in combination with bednets could prevent even more cases of the disease. GSK’s journey towards a malaria vaccine began with an idea: to take a small piece of the major protein that forms the surface of the parasite and make a vaccine against it. After 10 years of experiments,...