African Malaria Network Trust - Product Research and Development

Product Research and Development

Among the cherished goals of AMANET is to develop sustainable human and infrastructure capacity for African owned and led institutions to undertake malaria vaccine trials that are appropriate for Africans living in malaria-endemic areas. The current focus is to support the creation of a spectrum of interventional tools, especially vaccines that are efficacious, acceptable, affordable and readily accessible. The following are AMANET's candidate malaria vaccine portfolio:

• The Merozoite Surface Protein - Long Sythetic Peptide (MSP3 LSP), This is the leading product which has already been shown to be safe in adults in Africa. The vaccine is currently undergoing testing for safety in children both in Burkina Faso and shortly in Tanzania. Should the safety profile be established to be safe, the vaccine will be taken through phase IIb immunogenicity trials that would also establish the proof of limited efficacy
• The Apical Membrane Antigen (AMA1): This the second vaccine in development and is now undergoing phase Ib evaluation in adults Mali. During the last quarter of 2007, an evaluation of the safety results was done, and AMA1 was found to be safe in African adults..
• The GMZ2: The third vaccine in the portfolio was recently initiated in phase Ib adult study in Gabon. This product is expected to undergo a similar developmental pathway should it continue to have good results. This product is unique because it is a hybrid molecule with two potential targets on the malaria parasite; GLURP and MSP3.

It is expected that within the next three years several trials of these candidate vaccines shall be undertaken at the auspices of AMANET. Other candidate vaccines which meet the required profile are welcome to the AMANET malaria vaccine development programme.