Safety and efficacy of the blood-stage malaria vaccine RH5.1/Matrix-M in Burkina Faso: interim results of a double-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 2b trial in children.

Background: Two pre-erythrocytic vaccines (R21/Matrix-M and RTS,S/AS01) are now approved for Plasmodium falciparum malaria. However, neither induces blood-stage immunity against parasites that break through from the liver. RH5.

Vaccine-induced human monoclonal antibodies to PfRH5 show broadly neutralizing activity against P. falciparum clinical isolates.

Vaccines to the Plasmodium falciparum reticulocyte binding-like protein homologue 5 (PfRH5) target the blood-stage of the parasite life cycle. PfRH5 has the potential to trigger the production of strain-transcendent antibodies and has proven its efficacy both in pre-clinical and early clinical studies. Vaccine-induced monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to PfRH5 showed promising outcomes against cultured P.

Plug and play virus-like particles for the generation of anti-toxin antibodies.

Snakebite is a major global health concern, for which antivenom remains the only approved treatment to neutralise the harmful effects of the toxins. However, some medically important toxins are poorly immunogenic, resulting in reduced efficacy of the final product. Boosting the immunogenicity of these toxins in the commercial antivenom immunising mixtures could be an effective strategy to improve the final dose efficacy, and displaying snake antigens on Virus-like particles (VLPs) is one method for this.

Rational structure-guided design of a blood stage malaria vaccine immunogen presenting a single epitope from PfRH5.

There is an urgent need for improved malaria vaccine immunogens. Invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum is essential for its life cycle, preceding symptoms of disease and parasite transmission. Antibodies which target PfRH5 are highly effective at preventing erythrocyte invasion and the most potent growth-inhibitory antibodies bind a single epitope.