AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Body
GOALS
Good Health & Well-being
KEYWORDS
malaria, vaccine, diseases
COUNTRY
Germany
DESIGNED BY
Professor Peter Kremsner and Dr. Benjamin Mordmüller
University of Tübingen researchers in collaboration with the biotech company Sanaria Inc.
WEBSITE
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v542/n7642/full/nature21060.html
New malaria vaccine effective in clinical trial
Tübingen researchers achieve protection of up to 100 percent using fully viable malaria parasites
Tübingen researchers have demonstrated in a clinical trial that a new vaccine for malaria called Sanaria® PfSPZ-CVac has been up to 100 percent effective when assessed at 10 weeks after last dose of vaccine. The vaccine incorporated fully viable – not weakened or otherwise inactivated – malaria pathogens together with the medication to combat them.
Malaria parasites are transmitted by the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. The Plasmodium falciparum parasite is responsible for most malaria infections and almost all deaths caused by the disease worldwide. Most of the previous vaccines which have been tried involved the use of individual molecules found in the pathogen. However, they were unable to provide sufficient immunity to the disease.