WHO recommends R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine

03 October 2023

WHO has recommended the R21/Matrix-M for the prevention of malaria in children. This highly effective vaccine was developed by the Jenner Institute at Oxford University and Serum Institute of India with support from the EDCTP, the Wellcome Trust, and the European Investment Bank (‘EIB’).

“We are very pleased with the WHO recommendation for use new malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M, for the prevention of malaria in children. EDCTP supported the phase Ib/IIb trials on this vaccine which generated promising results enabling further evaluation in the recently completed phase III multicentre trial.”

Dr Michael Makanga, EDCTP Association Executive Director

To date, the R21/Matrix-MTM malaria vaccine has been licensed for use in Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. In combination with public health measures such as the use of insecticide-treated bed nets, this vaccine can help save and improve the lives of millions of children and their families.

More information about the recommendation of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine is available in the press release by the University of Oxford.

The Multi-Stage Malaria Vaccine Consortium

MMVC – the Multi-Stage Malaria Vaccine Consortium – aimed to develop the first multi-stage vaccine for malaria, designed to target all four life cycle stages of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite. EDCTP has been funding the ground-breaking research of this Europe-Africa malaria vaccine consortium, led by Professor Hill (University of Oxford), for more than a decade. The consortium which includes leading researchers from Europe, Africa and India conducted a series of trials in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania, supported by a grant of 15 million euros from EDCTP.

In 2021, the MMVC team reported highly promising results from the phase Ib/IIb trial of R21/Matrix-M in Burkina Faso led by the clinical trial investigator, Professor Halidou Tinto of the Institute of Research in Health Sciences (IRSS) in Burkina Faso. In this trial, children aged 5-17 months were randomised to receive either the R21/Matrix-M candidate (low- or high-dose) or a control vaccine (rabies). Vaccine efficacy of 77% was seen in the higher-dose adjuvant group, and 71% in the lower-dose adjuvant group over 12 months of follow-up, with no serious adverse events related to the vaccine noted.

Further promising results were confirmed in 2022. A report on two-year follow up of infants in Burkina Faso showed that a booster dose of R21/Matrix-M given 1 year after the three-dose primary regimen maintained high levels of protection against clinical malaria. The results showed that R21/Matrix-M again hit the WHO’s preferred efficacy target. In children given the highest dose of Matrix-M adjuvant, efficacy was 80% 1 year after boosting.

More information