Hou MM, Barrett JR, Themistocleous Y, Rawlinson TA, Diouf A, Martinez FJ, Nielsen CM, Lias AM, King LDW, Edwards NJ, Greenwood NM, Kingham L, Poulton ID, Khozoee B, Goh C, Hodgson SH, Mac Lochlainn DJ, Salkeld J, Guillotte-Blisnick M, Huon C, Mohring F, Reimer JM, Chauhan VS, Mukherjee P, Biswas S, Taylor IJ, Lawrie AM, Cho JS, Nugent FL, Long CA, Moon RW, Miura K, Silk SE, Chitnis CE, Minassian AM, Draper SJ.
Sci Transl Med. 2023 Jul 12;15(704):eadf1782. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adf1782. Epub 2023 Jul 12. PMID: 37437014.
Abstract
There are no licensed vaccines against Plasmodium vivax. We conducted two phase 1/2a clinical trials to assess two vaccines targeting P. vivax Duffy-binding protein region II (PvDBPII). Recombinant viral vaccines using chimpanzee adenovirus 63 (ChAd63) and modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) vectors as well as a protein and adjuvant formulation (PvDBPII/Matrix-M) were tested in both a standard and a delayed dosing regimen. Volunteers underwent controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) after their last vaccination, alongside unvaccinated controls. Efficacy was assessed by comparisons of parasite multiplication rates in the blood. PvDBPII/Matrix-M, given in a delayed dosing regimen, elicited the highest antibody responses and reduced the mean parasite multiplication rate after CHMI by 51% (n = 6) compared with unvaccinated controls (n = 13), whereas no other vaccine or regimen affected parasite growth. Both viral-vectored and protein vaccines were well tolerated and elicited expected, short-lived adverse events. Together, these results support further clinical evaluation of the PvDBPII/Matrix-M P. vivax vaccine.