GSK

When Mosquirix, a vaccine developed over three decades by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), was approved by the European Medicines Agency in July, it was a big deal. The first vaccine of its kind, it is a long-awaited weapon in the war against malaria, which strikes 200 million people a year and kills 600,000—the majority children. Mosquirix, which in clinical trials reduced malaria cases by 40% in children, is no magic bullet, but it represents significant progress against a disease that has gotten scant attention from drugmakers. It’s priced 5% above the cost of manufacture, and the profit will be reinvested in tropical disease R&D. But the greater business and scientific potential comes from the insights GSK collected in the effort, which are now being applied to other projects, including a shingles vaccine. “The proof of concept has been made: It works,” says Greg Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group. “The next stage will be to, in time, improve it and apply the technology to other complex diseases.” Potential agents, he says, could target hepatitis C and HIV.