EQUATORIAL Guinea has signed a new agreement to sponsor clinical development of the Sanaria PfSPZ Vaccine against malaria.
The agreement – which was signed with industry partners, Marathon Oil Corporation, Noble Energy Inc. and Atlantic Methanol Production Company – includes the Phase 3 clinical programme, starting in 2020.
‘Our goal is licensure and deployment of a vaccine to prevent malaria. We are excited to take our next step with the Government of Equatorial Guinea, Marathon Oil, Noble Energy and AMPCO on the pathway to PfSPZ Vaccine licensure and then malaria elimination on Bioko Island.
‘This unique partnership continues to show the EG Government’s commitment to being the first African government to invest significant funds in the development of a malaria vaccine,’ says Stephen L. Hoffman, CEO of Sanaria
The larger funding programme – the Bioko Island Malaria Elimination Programme (BIMEP)– is focused on eliminating malaria from Bioko Island by integrating PfSPZ Vaccine into standard anti-malaria activities, including mosquito control and malaria diagnosis and treatment, coordinated by Medical Care Development International.
Equatorial Guinea’s Ministries of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Health and Social Welfare and its oil and gas sector partners, are set to donate $22 million to support vaccine development and malaria control efforts within BIMEP.
Equatorial Guinea EG will provide an extra $4.5 million over the next three years to directly support Sanaria’s vaccine development efforts.
‘The EG Government has recognised the potential of Sanaria’s PfSPZ vaccines to be critical in elimination of malaria from our country and the rest of Africa,’ said the Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima. ‘With this in mind, we have committed our resources to accelerate development of Sanaria PfSPZ Vaccine to licensure for future use on Bioko Island, and then our mainland and the rest of Africa.’
These funds are in addition to the already-expended $48 million for the Equatoguinean Malaria Vaccine Initiative.
The Phase 3 clinical trial in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, will provide data to support submission to the U.S. and European regulatory agencies for licensure of PfSPZ Vaccine. BIMEP is also supported by the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) (Tanzania) and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.