MVI Announces Appointment of New Director of Clinical Development

The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) is pleased to welcome Dr. Santiago Ferro to its Leadership Team as Director of Clinical Development. In this role he will oversee the development of malaria vaccine candidates in MVI's portfolio as they move into human trials. Read the full press release here.

Download a PDF version of the press release here. (21 KB PDF)

Announcements

On July 30, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. The new five-year, $48 billion plan expands access to existing lifesaving prevention, treatment, and care services for those most in need. Within the total, the law includes the authorization of $5 billion for malaria and $4 billion for TB activities. Additionally, the bill supports expansion of research and development for health technologies such as new drugs, vaccines, and microbicides. Visit PATH's press room to read the full announcement.

Nine African malaria vaccine specialists focused on better engaging policymakers and the media about the quest for a malaria vaccine at MVI’s recent 2008 Malaria Vaccine Advocacy Fellowship, held in Ghana. Supported by the ExxonMobil Foundation's Africa Health Initiative, the program aims to bridge the worlds of science and policymaking.

Click here to learn more about the program.

The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) is providing partial support to Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd to establish a dedicated recombinant protein manufacturing facility in Pune, India to produce cGMP grade malaria vaccine candidates for use in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials.

Christian Loucq, MD, director of MVI, spoke at the inaugural event that marked the launch of the facility. Read the statement here. Download a PDF version of the statement here.

On May 28, 2008, the Prince of Asturias Foundation, presided over by the Crown Prince of Spain, bestowed its Award for International Cooperation on four African research centers, three of which are active partners with MVI on the world’s most advanced malaria vaccine candidate. Past winners of this prestigious award include Al Gore, Nelson Mandela, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

MVI Director Christian Loucq issued a congratulatory message to the recipients and the Foundation’s jury. Read the entire statement here.

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.