How it began
Manuel Elkin Patarroyo studied medicine at the National University of Colombia and virology at Yale University, and founded the Immunology Institute of Colombia in Bogotá. There he produced a synthetic vaccine against malaria, dated to 1986 or 1987 in different accounts. The vaccine, known as SPf66, was first formulated and tested in Colombia, with field trials on military volunteers in 1988.
How it works
SPf66 is a synthetic hybrid peptide. Instead of using a weakened or killed organism, it is built chemically from short chains of amino acids that copy antigens of the malaria parasite, so that the immune system learns to recognize the parasite. It targets Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest form of malaria.
How it spread
Patarroyo donated the vaccine to the World Health Organization. It was later also manufactured in the United States. Clinical trials were carried out in Gambia, Tanzania and Thailand as well as in South America, which made it the first malaria vaccine to be tested extensively in areas where the disease is endemic.
Who pushed back
The trials did not bear out the early hopes. A systematic review held by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information found that SPf66 did not protect African populations and was only moderately effective in South America. The Science Museum Group puts its effectiveness in South America at about 30 percent. Patarroyo was also criticized for his use of monkeys from the Colombian Amazon in testing, which he maintained was legal.
What lasted
Patarroyo received the Prince of Asturias Award for scientific and technical research in 1992. The awarding foundation later said his work had become an example for other efforts to create vaccines. Colleagues at the National University credited him with training a generation of Colombian researchers. He died in Bogotá in January 2025 while still a professor there.
