First World Malaria Day

The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) observes the first World Malaria Day with a sense of optimism. Malaria is finally receiving the attention it warrants. Programs devoted to expanding access to current interventions are beginning to have an impact.

Read the entire statement from MVI's director, Dr. Christian Loucq here.

The status of the global malaria vaccine pipeline:

• More than 40 malaria vaccine candidates are moving through the development process globally, with 16 of these candidates in clinical trials.
  
  Click here to down load the entire briefing document.

A selection of events, featuring MVI staff, held around the world to commemorate the First World Malaria Day:

• April 21 and 22, Bonn, Germany
  Dr. Christian Loucq is speaking at a high-level, two-day International Conference on Malaria, organized by the European-African Malaria Campaign 'Stop Malaria Now!', the European Alliance Against Malaria and hosted by Deutsche Welle.
• April 22, Washington, DC
  Dr. Tonya Villafana, Director of Portfolio Management, is a panelist at a congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss the linkages between HIV/AIDS and Malaria organized by the AIDS Institute.
• April 24 and 25, Lilongwe, Malawi
  Alan Brooks, Director of Policy and Access and Vicky Cardenas, Program Officer, facilitate a meeting on the state of malaria vaccine development worldwide. They are joined by University of North Carolina project, the World Health Organization, Malawi’s Ministry of Health, and other partners.
• April 25, London, UK
  Chris Atim, Economist, is representing MVI at a Mobilizing to Save Lives event sponsored by the UK Malaria Consortium and Trade Union Congress.
• April 25, New York, NY
  Dr. Elissa Malkin, Senior Medical Officer, is joining other speakers at an educational symposium on malaria and its challenges, hosted by New York University's School of Medicine.

For information on other PATH activities and events around World Malaria Day, please visit www.path.org.

Announcements

The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI) are pleased to announce a new collaboration to establish a center devoted to testing the safety and efficacy of malaria vaccine candidates in humans. The new Human Challenge Center at SBRI will be one of only a handful of facilities of its kind worldwide and will help meet the growing demand to test new interventions against the deadly malaria parasite. Read the press release here.

MVI is pleased to announce the appointment of Ashley Birkett, PhD, as Director of Preclinical Research and Development. Dr. Birkett will lead the assessment of vaccine technologies for inclusion in MVI’s portfolio, as well as scientific and technical assessment of MVI’s ongoing projects. He also will oversee our relationships with those external partners engaged in MVI-supported preclinical R&D projects. View the press release here.

Intercell AG (VSE, "ICLL") and the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative announce a new collaboration to evaluate Intercell's novel proprietary adjuvant IC31® in combination with recombinant malaria antigens from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read the press release.

The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and partner, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, published recent Phase 2 trial results showing that the vaccine candidate, RTS,S, has a promising safety and tolerability profile and reduces malaria parasite infection and clinical illness due to malaria. This was the first RTS,S vaccine trial in African infants. To view the press kit please click here.

MVI Director, Dr. Christian Loucq and other members of staff participated in the October 16-18 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Malaria Forum. To learn more about the forum and to hear web casts of the forum, please visit the Kaiser Network.

Sanaria, Inc. and MVI held a grand opening, ribbon-cutting ceremony of the world’s first clinical manufacturing facility for a live, attenuated "whole-parasite" malaria vaccine. View the event program here. Download the press release here.

Malaria Vaccines for the World conference
Representatives of MVI participated in the first Malaria Vaccines for the World conference at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, Sept. 17–19. Read more.

Featured in July's National Geographic magazine, is a comprehensive article on Malaria and its impact— in Africa and around the globe. Read the article.

BBC World and Rockhopper TV invite you to watch the race toward one of the most urgently needed immunizations of our time: a vaccine to protect young African children against the deadly malaria parasite.

Kill or Cure? The Malaria Vaccine features two very different malaria vaccines, both backed by MVI. Read more.