A new report is out from Kalorama Information that suggests the market for a malaria vaccine could earn as much as $1 billion.

With increased attention on finding a cure for the scourge of malaria, recently highlighted by the announcement of a large research and development grant from the Bill Gates Foundation, and with several candidates already in the pipeline, there could be a $1 billion market for malaria vaccine products by 2017, according to healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information, which recently published a survey of emerging vaccine products titled: “What’s Next in Vaccines? HIV, Malaria, Rabies, MRSA, and 30 Other Vaccine Targets in the 2010-2020 Pipeline.” According to Kalorama, the potential market is likely to spur companies to develop innovative products for a disease that kills nearly two million people each year.

Certainly a successful vaccine would have an enormous market and be an important tool in the fight against malaria. Part of the report that is most interesting is the accounts of progress being made in the vaccine hunt.

Among the most advanced candidates is GlaxoSmithKline’s Mosquirix, which continues to be investigated in several large scale Phase III trials in Africa. Initial studies of the vaccine in children under 5 have shown that it can reduce infections by as much as 63%, though more often in the range of 50%, with effects persisting for at least one year. The results are not at the 80% level that most healthcare organizations are looking for, but Kalorama sees this drug as a first step. The company aims for a 2012 market approval. Netherlands-based Crucell is also developing a malaria vaccine and conducting Phase I studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. In addition, the University of Oxford, the U. S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity (USAMMDA) and the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in India are among the institutions with malaria vaccine efforts underway.

We are hopeful for a day of a widely acceptable and effective vaccine that can be part of the prevention tools already in place.

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