London : Bitish drug maker Glaxosmithkline is seeking regulatory approval for the world's first malaria vaccine after trial data showed that it had cut the number of cases in Africa children.
Experts say that they are optimistic about the possibility of the world's first vaccine after the trial results.
Vaccine known as RTS,S was found, after 18 months of follow-up, to have almost halved the number of malaria cases in young Children in the trial, and to have reduced by around a quarter the number of malaria cases in infants.
Scientists say an effective Vaccine is key to attempts to eradicate it.
"Based on these data, GSK now intends to submit, in 2014, a regulatory application to the Eurpoean Medicine Agency (EMA), " GSK said in a statement.
It added that the United Nation health agency, the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), has indicated it may recommend use of the RTS,S Vaccine from as early as 2015 if EMA drugs regulators back its licence application.
The malaria trial was Africa's largest-ever Clinical trial involving almost 15,500 Children in Seven Countries.
GSK is developing RTS,S with the non-profit PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), with grant funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to MVI.
"Many millions of malaria cases fill the wards of our hospitals"said Halidou Tinto, a lead investigator on the RTS,S trial from Burkina Faso.
Testing showed that 18 month after Vaccination, Children aged five to 17 months had a 46% reducation in the risk of Clinical malaria compared to unvaccinated contemporaries.
But in infants aged six to 12 Weeks at the time of Vaccination , there was only a 27% reducation in risk.