Controversy over GSK Malaria Vaccine

"It is too early to say we have a vaccine against malaria," according to Pierre Druilhi, director of the Biomedical Parasitological Unit at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, at a major international conference in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde on malaria which closed today.Druilhi is the author of a study of a phase I clinical trial of a malaria vaccine, and has previously criticised lack of funding and political constraints on moving more quickly on a wider range of possible vaccines. Druilhi says that claims of early success from the GSK vaccine are claiming too much too soon:

"Although these scientists say their vaccine has 30 percent efficacy to prevent malaria for 18 months -- which in my opinion is not the case -- I'll say we still have more efficient drugs to use against malaria," said Druilhi.