Malaria drugs test planned for Africa

A pharmaceutical giant is set to embark on a large scale clinical trial of a malaria drug in Africa, which has been funded by philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates.

The Gates Foundation donated $107.6 million (£69.9 million) in 2005 to extend research of the RTS S vaccine which was being developed by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

It has been slated for trials among 16,000 children in seven African countries in the hope to make a breakthrough in treating the disease, Reuters reported.

Malaria has become resistant to some forms of medication and fears are that this will also happen with the latest World Health Organization-recommended artemisin combination therapy.

RTS S works by using a protein from the disease to trigger the body’s immune response, which results in increased protection from malaria in the liver.

It is only partial protection against the disease, but tests so far have shown a reduction in clinical malaria by 35 per cent and 50 per cent in the worst cases.