GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson's Crucell unit will develop their

next-generation malaria vaccine in collaboration with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

 The two companies signed an agreement last year to jointly develop the vaccine candidate, which uses a "prime-boost" strategy to trigger a stronger immune response. Terms of the new partnership were not disclosed.

"This new collaboration, though in the early stages, gives us the opportunity to test an approach with the potential to substantially increase efficacy and move us closer to the internationally agreed goal of an 80-percent effective second-generation vaccine by 2025," remarked Christian Loucq, director of PATH.

 GlaxoSmithKline's first-generation vaccine Mosquirix, which is in late-stage development and could reach the market in 2015, has been shown to be around 50 percent effective.

The new approach, which combines Mosquirix with a common cold virus engineered by Crucell, has been shown in preclinical studies to generate an enhanced immunity effect when compared with either vaccine component alone.

 A Phase I/IIa trial, which will assign patients to receive a single dose of Crucell's weakened virus vaccine followed by two doses of Mosquirix, is expected to start this summer, with data anticipated within 18 to 24 months.

If results are positive, follow-up studies will include a proof-of-concept mid-stage trial in African adults, along with one in children, and a series of Phase III tests, before regulatory submission are filed sometime between 2020 and 2025

.