FDA approval for testing in humans watershed moment for unique malaria vaccine approach

ROCKVILLE, Maryland – In a move that highlights the strength of public-private collaboration in tackling international health challenges, the Maryland- based company Sanaria Inc., with support from the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial—the first tests in adult volunteers—of its unique malaria vaccine candidate. Unlike other malaria vaccine candidates, Sanaria’s approach deploys a weakened form of the whole malaria parasite harvested from irradiated mosquitoes instead of small portions of the parasite.

Having met the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) |