Malaria Vaccine Program (MVP)

In 2009, Sabin Vaccine Development entered into collaboration with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to study the feasibility of a transmission blocking vaccine for malaria. This vaccine approach aims to stop the malaria parasite from developing in the mosquito, effectively blocking transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans.

With the investment from MVI, Sabin Vaccine Development will utilize the program's existing process development capabilities at The George Washington University (GWU) to optimize express of Anopheline alanyl aminopeptidase-1 (AnAPN1) in either yeast or a bacterial vector. Once the expression system is determined, researchers at GWU will develop a manufacturing process to produce the AnAPN1 antigen, as well as the release and stability tests necessary to test its identity, purity, potency and stability. The successful development of this vaccine candidate would yield an important tool in efforts to control and eradicate malaria.