Documentary Reveals Story of Malaria Vaccine's Creation

A new documentary from NOVA shines a light on the creation of R21, a new malaria vaccine. Transcript This month, a new documentary from NOVA shines a light on the creation of a new malaria vaccine. 'The Battle to Beat Malaria' tells the story of the development of R21 – from creation to WHO approval. Taking you behind the scenes in Oxford, UK, where the jab was developed as a PhD project, to the Serum Institute of India where millions of doses are prepared and stored. The documentary reveals the challenge of increasing the amount of protein that the vaccine creates, thereby the number of protective antibodies that the body creates. Of 142 vaccines developed, only a handful made it to clinical trials. And only two of those were approved for widespread use, R21 included. Through trial and error, the Oxford group eventually reached between 70 and 80% efficacy. Source The Batte to Beat Malaria (via PBS) About The Podcast The Johns Hopkins Malaria Minute podcast is produced by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute to highlight impactful malaria research and to share it with the global community.