International regulators could on October 2015 approve the use of the world's first malaria vaccine in Africa, produced by GlaxoSmithKline.
The shoe, called RTS,S offered partial protection for children for up to four years, after the first final trial data test.
It will be the first licensed human vaccine against a parasitic disease, and could help prevent millions of cases of malaria, which currently kills more than 600,000 people a year.
Researchers at the British drug maker, GSK, have been working on RTS,S for 30 years, prompting experts to hope that scientists would be able to develop an effective malaria vaccine.
2011 and 2012 earlier trial data release dampened the hopes that this shot would be the final answer to wiping out malaria.
The 2011 and 2012 earlier trial only reduced episodes of malaria in babies aged six weeks to 12 weeks by 27 per cent, and by around 46 per cent in children aged five to 17 months.
Lancet journal published the final stage follow-up data showing that vaccinated children continued to be protected four years on, though at a declining rate - an important factor, given the prevalence of the disease and rates of protection were stronger with a booster shot.
A professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Brian Greenwood, who worked on the study, said, in spite of the falling efficacy over time, there is still a clear benefit from RTS,S.
He said with a booster shot, an average 1,363 cases of clinical malaria were prevented over four years for every 1,000 children vaccinated, or 1,774 cases.
It is expected that the children would normally have had several cases of infection over that period.
An average 558 cases were prevented for every 1,000 vaccinated, and 983 cases in those babies who got a booster, over three years of follow-up.
Greenwood said, given that there were an estimated 198 million malaria cases in 2013, this level of efficacy potentially translates into millions of cases of malaria in children being prevented.
A decision is being expected within a few months by GSK, who submitted an application in July 2014 for regulatory approval by the European Medicines Agency for RTS,S.
Greenwood said, if it gets a license, the World Health Organization could recommend it for use, as early as October this year.
Experts say RTS,S will be only one among several weapons against malaria, alongside insecticide-treated bed nets, rapid diagnostic tests and anti-malaria drugs.
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