• Vaccine Name: Pfs48/45 in Matrix-M
• Target Pathogen: Plasmodium spp.
• Target Disease: Malaria
• Type: Subunit vaccine
• Status: Clinical trial
• Host Species for Licensed Use: Human
• Antigen: Pfs48/45 (Minassian et al., 2022): plays an important role in the fertilization of plasmodium: males lacking Pfs48/45 show severely reduced fertility and are incapable of adhering to and penetrating female gametes. (Theisen et al., 2017)
• Pfs48/45 gene engineering:
  • Type: Recombinant protein preparation
  • Description: Pfs48/45 and the 10 C and 6 C fusion proteins. The secondary structure prediction of Pfs48/45 have assigned 2 loops in domain II between amino acid residues 190–210 and 239–259, and in domain III between the residues 302–327 and 357–397. Epitope I is located between residues 295 and 418. (Theisen et al., 2017)
  • Detailed Gene Information: Click Here.
• Immunization Route: Intramuscular injection (i.m.)
• Description: Transmission Blocking Vaccine: induce antibodies that taken up by the mosquito and subsequently prevent development of parasites in the mosquito midgut (Theisen et al., 2017)

Human Response

• Host Strain: adults living in UK(Minassian et al., 2022)
• Vaccination Protocol: Non-randomized, phase Ia trial, not strated.
  Participants will be separated into three different groups with 8-10 participants in each group: 1) low dose: three doses of 10 µg Pfs48/45 in 50 µg Matrix-M on days 0, 28 and 56; 2) standard dose: three doses of 50 µg Pfs48/45 in 50 µg Matrix-M on days 0, 28 and 56; and 3) two doses of 50 µg Pfs48/45 in 50 µg Matrix-M on days 0 and 28, followed by one dose of 10 µg Pfs48/45 in 50 µg Matrix-M on day 56. (Minassian et al., 2022)