Malaria Vaccine GMZ2: promising results phase Ib trial in young Gabonese children published
The candidate malaria vaccine GMZ2 proved to be safe, immunogenic and well tolerated in one to five year old Gabonese children. This is the conclusion of the publication by S. Bélard and others based on the results of the phase Ib study conducted in Gabon. The results of this study supported the EDCTP funded, multicentre phase IIb clinical trial currently being implemented in Gabon, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Uganda. This study is coordinated by Dawit Ejigu and sponsored by the African Malaria Network Trust (AMANET).
The authors state in the abstract of the article that “GMZ2 is a fusion protein of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 3 (MSP3) and glutamate rich protein (GLURP) that mediates an immune response against the blood stage of the parasite. Two previous phase I clinical trials, one in naïve European adults and one in malaria-exposed Gabonese adults showed that GMZ2 was well tolerated and immunogenic. Thirty children one to five years of age were randomized to receive three doses of either 30 µg or 100 µg of GMZ2, or rabies vaccine. GMZ2, adjuvanted in aluminum hydroxide, was administered on Days 0, 28 and 56. All participants received a full course of their respective vaccination and were followed up for one year. Both 30 µg and 100 µg GMZ2 vaccine doses were well tolerated and induced antibodies and memory B-cells against GMZ2 as well as its antigenic constituents MSP3 and GLURP.”
The GMZ2 consortium is funded by EDCTP and is composed of AMANET (project coordinator and sponsor) in Tanzania, the Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme, Burkina Faso; Statens Serum Institut, Denmark; the Medical Research Unit at Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Gabon; the Medical Research Council Laboratories, The Gambia; University of Tübingen, Germany; Makerere University, Uganda; Navrongo Health Research Centre, Ghana; and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK.
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