A new candidate malaria vaccine with the potential to neutralise all strains of the most deadly species of malaria parasite has been developed by a team led by scientists at the University of Oxford.
Results confirmed
The results of this new vaccine independently confirm the utility of a key discovery reported last month from scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute who had identified this target within the parasite as a potential ‘Achilles' heel' that could hold significant promise for vaccine development.
The most deadly form of mosquito, Plasmodium falciparum, is responsible for nine out of ten deaths from malaria.
Vaccinating against malaria is likely to be the most cost-effective way of protecting populations against disease; however, no licensed vaccine is currently available.
Another vaccine for malaria is also achieving promising but incomplete levels of protection in clinical trials in Africa; scientists believe a new and more effective vaccine will be required to eradicate the disease.
Tested in animal models
In a paper in the journal Nature Communications, a team of scientists from the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford led by Dr Simon Draper, working with colleagues from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the Kenyan Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, demonstrate that a vaccine they have developed induces an antibody response in animal models capable of neutralising all the tested strains of the P. falciparum parasite.
“Our initial finding, reported last month, was unexpected and completely changed the way in which we view how the malaria parasite invades red blood cells,” Welcome Trust press release quoted Dr Gavin Wright, a co-author as saying.
Achilles' heel attacked
He is from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. “It revealed what we think is the parasite's Achilles' heel in the way it invades our cells and provided a target for potential new vaccines.”
Dr Sandy Douglas, a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellow from the University of Oxford and first author on the new study, adds: “We have created a vaccine that confirms the recent discovery relating to the biology of RH5 antigen, given it can generate an immune response in animal models capable of neutralising many — and potentially all — strains of the P. falciparumparasite, the deadliest species of malaria parasite.”
Our next step will be to begin safety tests of this vaccine.
If these prove successful, clinical trials in patients may begin within the next two to three years.
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