A Colombian researcher claims that human trials of a new synthetic malaria vaccine will begin within a year and a half, according to local media Thursday.
Colombian scientist Manuel Elkin Patarroyo claimed the new drug has a 90% effectiveness rate in monkeys. He suggested that Colombian soldiers could be among the first to be tested, as has been the case in previous trials.
“I want to the leave the new vaccine practically perfect,” explained the 66-year old.
Patarroyo is largely credited with developing the first vaccine against malaria in 1986 at the Colombian Institute of Immunology with the support of private companies and academic institutions.
This second generation of the drug was first discovered in 2010.
Malaria affects between 350 and 500 million people and causes more than one million deaths annually according to the U.N.