The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday added the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, developed by Oxford University and manufactured by Serum Institute of India, to its list of prequalified vaccines.
In October 2023, WHO had recommended its use for the prevention of malaria in children, following the advice of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization and the Malaria Policy Advisory Group.
The R21 vaccine is the second malaria vaccine prequalified by WHO, following the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine which had obtained prequalification status in July 2022.
