LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Agenus Inc. (AGEN) announced the second complete set of results from the Phase 3 trial of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK, GSK.L) RTS,S malaria vaccine candidate (also known as Mosquirix), which contains Agenus' QS-21 Stimulon adjuvant. QS-21 Stimulon is a component of AS01, one of GSK's proprietary adjuvant systems used in RTS,S.
In the trial, infants (aged 6-12 weeks at first vaccination) receiving the RTS,S vaccine candidate experienced one-third fewer episodes of both clinical and severe malaria and experienced similar reactions to the injection when compared to those who received the control meningococcal C conjugate vaccine. Insecticide-treated bed nets were used by 86% of the trial participants demonstrating that RTS,S provided protection beyond existing malaria control interventions.
Garo Armen, chairman and chief executive officer of Agenus, stated, 'We are very pleased to be a part of this important breakthrough, which has the potential to prevent millions of malaria cases. QS-21 Stimulon has become a key component of many vaccines in clinical development; over the next year we expect additional, pivotal data from multiple important clinical programs that are being developed by us and our corporate partners.'
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