Malaria vaccine clinical trial seeks healthy volunteers

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine are enrolling volunteers in an investigational malaria vaccine trial.

Malaria is a serious global health issue, with an estimated 263 million cases worldwide and 597,000 reported deaths in 2023. It is caused by a parasite transmitted to humans through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. Most cases reported in the United States are among travelers returning from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

A highly effective and long-lasting vaccine would be ideal to prevent malaria infection. The PfSPZ-LARC2 vaccine is a weakened form of the whole malaria parasite that may provide enhanced protection against infection. The vaccine candidate was developed by Sanaria, a biotechnology company headquartered in Maryland.

This study is recruiting 22 healthy people ages 18 to 45 years old for a clinical trial. Enrollees will receive either the experimental vaccine or placebo injections of saline. After receiving the vaccine or placebo, participants will be exposed to malaria. They will be closely monitored, and treated if malaria is detected in their blood or if they have symptoms.

"Conducting this vaccine trial is an important step toward reducing the global burden of malaria and saving lives," said Dr. Scott McClelland, professor of medicine  at the UW School of Medicine and of epidemiology at the UW School of Public Health. He is the trial’s principal investigator.

Participants will be asked to commit to the following:

• Attend up to 38 study clinic visits in-person over one year.
• Receive three injections of an investigational vaccine or placebo.
• Keep track of how they feel after an injection.
• Undergo multiple blood draws for safety monitoring and to see whether the vaccine resulted in an immune response.
• Participate in an exposure to malaria, undergo follow-up blood draws to test for malaria, and receive treatment if testing is positive for malaria.

Participants will be compensated for their time.

Interested people should fill out a short survey at the study's participant registry. Alternatively, reach the virology research clinic team at vrc@uw.edu or 206-520-4340 (phone/text). The team will contact eligible candidates. 

Additional study details are available at clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT06735209). 

This research is supported by the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (UM1AI148684). 

For details about UW Medicine, please visit http://uwmedicine.org/about.