Worlds first vaccine against malaria (Mosquirix) has been approved on HWN HIGHLIGHT

Scientists across Africa are celebrating the news that the world's first vaccine against malaria has been approved by the European Medicines Agency.

The vaccine, named Mosquirix, was given the green light on Friday after more than 30 years of research, detailed in 230,000 pages of data. It now means that the vaccine will be examined by the World Health Organisation and, if approved, could be administered to children across Africa within the next few years.

It's massively significant, said Allan Pamba, vice president for pharmaceuticals in East Africa for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which has spent more than $356 million (£230m) to date on finding a vaccine. GSK expects to invest a further $200 to $250 million until development is completed. In January 2001, GSK and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, with grant monies from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to PATH, entered into a public-private partnership to develop a vaccine. PATH has invested more than $200 million, much of it from the Gateses.

Malaria has been incredibly difficult to crack. It's been tremendously frustrating. But we are all immensely proud to have reached this milestone.