The Most Effective Malaria Vaccine Yet Discovered (sciencemag.org) 30
An anonymous reader shares an excerpt from a Science Magazine blog, written by Derek Lowe: Excellent news today: we have word of the most effective malaria vaccine yet discovered. A year-long trial in Burkina Faso has shown 77% efficacy, which is by far the record, and which opens the way to potentially relieving a nearly incalculable burden of disease and human suffering.
This new vaccine (R21) uses a circumsporozoite protein (CSP) antigen -- that's a highly conserved protein of the parasite, involved in several functions as the parasite makes the move from mosquito to human and into different human tissues such as the salivary glands. This has been a vaccine ingredient before, such as in the RTS,S vaccine (the first one ever licensed), but R21 has a much higher proportion of CSP assembled into a virus-like particle. It also uses the exact same adjuvant from Novavax (Matrix-M) that they are using in their coronavirus vaccine -- you can't keep a good adjuvant down, and this Chilean-soapbark-based one seems to really kick the immune system up under all circumstances.
The higher-adjuvant cohort showed 77% vaccine efficacy, and the lower-adjuvant one showed 74% with (as you'd expect) overlapping confidence intervals. The first group had significantly higher antibody levels, though, and they're currently doing an additional year of follow-up to see how long the protection lasts and if these doses differentiate themselves. The antibody levels at the one-year mark in both groups were significantly higher than with the RTS,S vaccine, and in particular, antibodies against the repeat section in the middle of the circumsporozite protein seemed to correlate strongly with protection. No safety problems so far. The team is now planning a larger Phase III at five different African site, with varying seasonality and malaria loads.
This new vaccine (R21) uses a circumsporozoite protein (CSP) antigen -- that's a highly conserved protein of the parasite, involved in several functions as the parasite makes the move from mosquito to human and into different human tissues such as the salivary glands. This has been a vaccine ingredient before, such as in the RTS,S vaccine (the first one ever licensed), but R21 has a much higher proportion of CSP assembled into a virus-like particle. It also uses the exact same adjuvant from Novavax (Matrix-M) that they are using in their coronavirus vaccine -- you can't keep a good adjuvant down, and this Chilean-soapbark-based one seems to really kick the immune system up under all circumstances.
The higher-adjuvant cohort showed 77% vaccine efficacy, and the lower-adjuvant one showed 74% with (as you'd expect) overlapping confidence intervals. The first group had significantly higher antibody levels, though, and they're currently doing an additional year of follow-up to see how long the protection lasts and if these doses differentiate themselves. The antibody levels at the one-year mark in both groups were significantly higher than with the RTS,S vaccine, and in particular, antibodies against the repeat section in the middle of the circumsporozite protein seemed to correlate strongly with protection. No safety problems so far. The team is now planning a larger Phase III at five different African site, with varying seasonality and malaria loads.
Re: BIZX SEO pushes (Score:2)
Re: Wait... (Score:2)
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When did the previous administration claim bleach was effective against malaria???
I know your brain isn't the sharpest, but Jesus Christ dude!!
But wait, there's more! (Score:5, Informative)
There's an RNA vaccine under development as well. Derek Lowe does his usual first-rate roundup.
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/p... [sciencemag.org]
It works well in mice, for whatever that's worth.
Re:But wait, there's more! (Score:4, Insightful)
That mRNA vaccine targets a different protein (called PfeMP1) than the one this targets (called CSP). That said, they could easily make a different mRNA vaccine that targets those same CSP protein epitopes. Maybe taking both would be a good idea since then you have a broader set of antibodies so that the chance of encountering a malaria parasite that can evade both would be miniscule.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Yeah, people need to be a bit careful about the excitement over mRNA vaccines; there's quite a bit of evidence that although they're more effective at stopping coronavirus by soliciting a strong anti-body response, those anti-bodies don't last as long - anti-body counts have been lower after 6 months in people who received the mRNA vaccine vs. the AZ vaccine.
I think there's a fairly fundamental risk here, we know that the the immune system produces a stronger memory in tackling disease when the disease has
Burkina Faso? Disputed Zone? (Score:4, Informative)
They don't even have 5G service down there!
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They don't even have 5G service down there!
That's why they're testing it there. They don't want cell towers reinfecting the test patients.
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Great timing (Score:4, Funny)
I just finished my work on the world's most effective mosquito with my CRISPR-at-home kit.
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Humor aside, actually that's stupid when you consider mosquitos are not the target of the vaccine -- because malaria isn't caused by a mosquito! It's caused by a parasite that is spread by the mosquito. Duh. You gene-edited the wrong organism Dr. Wu.
Editing the mosquito (Score:2)
Actually, there has been some work to attempt to vaccinate or otherwise modify the mosquitos so they'd no longer carry the malaria parasite.
So he can still have a point on the humor - a mosquito that is more effective at transmitting the parasite is certainly possible.
Re: Editing the mosquito (Score:2)
Yeah but that wonâ(TM)t negate the vaccine, which acts on the parasite other than in a contrived reaching manner (more possibilities for mutants).
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Well that's just great. Anyone interested in buying a barn full of six foot mosquitos?
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Haha, ok you got me.
Gates Foundation? (Score:2)
Was this brought on by the considerable efforts of the gates foundation? If so, the man has paid back a bit of karma IMHO.
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Was this brought on by the considerable efforts of the gates foundation? If so, the man has paid back a bit of karma IMHO.
Partially and indirectly, yes:
From the article: "Funding: The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), The Wellcome Trust and the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre."
From the "Committed Grants" page on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website, it appears they have funded the Wellcome Trust to the tune of ~$14 million for malaria research, and the University of Oxford (not sure if this is directly related to the BRC, however) multiple millions more, over many years.
Just in time too (Score:2)
Malaria variants that are resistant to commonly-used medication [scientificamerican.com] are on the rise, this vaccine should help mitigate that threat.
Still bummed the mosquito laser cannon hasn't panned out yet, though.
discovered? where??? (Score:2)