Looking Back as RTS,S Moves Forward

Looking out at the packed room full of reporters this afternoon, ready to announce the progress we have made with the RTS,S Phase III trial, I could not help but think about the past.  One moment in particular comes to mind.

It was five years ago, in 2004, in a cramped room in Mozambique. The walls were sweating and so were we as we waited for the results of the very first RTS,S safety and efficacy trial in children. What would be revealed during that unblinding could make or break the vaccine. We were literally at the edge of our seats.

Those early results, later published in The Lancet, were proof that this vaccine could work in children.

Fast forward five years to today; this time we were the ones giving the good news. From Nairobi, we told the world that more than 5,000 children had been enrolled in the pivotal efficacy trial in just six months. No one person could have done this alone, and I am so grateful to every member of the RTS,S team, which has evolved and grown over the years. It has been my honor to work with them.

Today represented a turning point of sorts. It felt like I, along with all the scientists who have worked on this vaccine over the past two decades, was passing the baton to Africa. The future of this vaccine is now in the capable hands of Salim and Patricia, the two African Principal Investigators who joined me at the briefing today, and all of the other talented researchers leading the trial across Africa. As we head into the last part of this journey, they will usher RTS,S into the future on the ground.

For years, people have questioned whether this vaccine would ever see the light of day. And doubts still linger. But today we showed the world that our dream can become a reality in just a few short years. Looking into the future of RTS,S, I cannot help but echo the words of Kenya's most famous son: "Yes We Can." Indeed we must.