The first new tuberculosis vaccine in 100 years may be within reach, after the announcement that more than $500m (£395m) has been pledged by philanthropic institutions for final trials involving 26,000 people in Africa and south-east Asia.
The M72/AS01E vaccine, developed by the giant pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, was shown to be 50% effective in phase 2b trials in 2018, but the company pulled out rather than invest in the large-scale trials needed for a licence, saying it did not see a market.
