PATH and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are committed to developing a malaria vaccine to help reduce the burden of malaria disease in children and contribute to malaria elimination.

GSK has developed a candidate vaccine against malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, RTS,S/AS01E.

The vaccine has been shown to be safe in multiple trials and efficacy data in pediatric populations has led to a pilot implementation program in three African countries including Kenya.

The RTS,S/AS01E vaccine mechanism of action is presumed to work on the initial sporozoite and liver stages of P. falciparum infection through neutralization of the circumsporozoite (CS) antigen on parasites invading after a mosquito bite in individuals immunized with the RTS,S/AS01E vaccine.

In order to inform whether a vaccine such as RTS,S/AS01E may have a future role in malaria elimination, it will be important to establish vaccine efficacy in adults in Sub-Saharan Africa who are reservoirs of parasites and who contribute to ongoing malaria transmission.