1. A phase 2b randomized, controlled trial of the efficacy of the GMZ2 malaria vaccine in African children
- Author
-
Sodiomon B. Sirima, Benjamin Mordmüller, Paul Milligan, Ulysse Ateba Ngoa, Fred Kironde, Frank Atuguba, Alfred B. Tiono, Saadou Issifou, Mark Kaddumukasa, Oscar Bangre, Clare Flach, Michael Christiansen, Peter Bang, Roma Chilengi, Søren Jepsen, Peter G. Kremsner, Michael Theisen, Alphonse Ouédraogo, Désiré Kargougou, Issa Nébié, Siaka Débé, Amidou Diarra, Edith Bougouma, Aurore B. Hounkpatin, Ayola Akim Adegnika, Bertrand Lell, Fanny Joanny, Yabo Josiane Honkpehedji, Jean Claude Dejon Agobe, Meral Esen, Anthony Ajua, Victor Asoala, Thomas Anyorigiya, Nana Akosua Ansah, William Buwembo, Edison Mworozi, Musa Sekikubo, Ismaela Abubakar, Kalifa Bojang, Ramadhani Noor, Brenda Okech, and Dawit A. Ejigu
- Subjects
Male ,0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Recombinant Fusion Proteins ,Plasmodium falciparum ,Protozoan Proteins ,Antibodies, Protozoan ,Aluminum Hydroxide ,Antigens, Protozoan ,Ghana ,03 medical and health sciences ,Rabies vaccine ,Adjuvants, Immunologic ,Internal medicine ,Multicenter trial ,Burkina Faso ,Malaria Vaccines ,parasitic diseases ,medicine ,Humans ,Uganda ,Gabon ,Malaria, Falciparum ,General Veterinary ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,biology ,Malaria vaccine ,business.industry ,Incidence (epidemiology) ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Infant ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,Vaccine efficacy ,030104 developmental biology ,Infectious Diseases ,Child, Preschool ,Immunoglobulin G ,Molecular Medicine ,Female ,Rabies ,business ,Malaria ,medicine.drug - Abstract
GMZ2 is a recombinant protein malaria vaccine, comprising two blood-stage antigens of Plasmodium falciparum, glutamate-rich protein and merozoite surface protein 3. We assessed efficacy of GMZ2 in children in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana and Uganda. : Children 12-60months old were randomized to receive three injections of either 100μg GMZ2 adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide or a control vaccine (rabies) four weeks apart and were followed up for six months to measure the incidence of malaria defined as fever or history of fever and a parasite density ⩾5000/μL. : A cohort of 1849 children were randomized, 1735 received three doses of vaccine (868 GMZ2, 867 control-vaccine). There were 641 malaria episodes in the GMZ2/Alum group and 720 in the control group. In the ATP analysis, vaccine efficacy (VE), adjusted for age and site was 14% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.6%, 23%, p-value=0.009). In the ITT analysis, age-adjusted VE was 11.3% (95% CI 2.5%, 19%, p-value=0.013). VE was higher in older children. In GMZ2-vaccinated children, the incidence of malaria decreased with increasing vaccine-induced anti-GMZ2 IgG concentration. There were 32 cases of severe malaria (18 in the rabies vaccine group and 14 in the GMZ2 group), VE 27% (95% CI -44%, 63%). : GMZ2 is the first blood-stage malaria vaccine to be evaluated in a large multicenter trial. GMZ2 was well tolerated and immunogenic, and reduced the incidence of malaria, but efficacy would need to be substantially improved, using a more immunogenic formulation, for the vaccine to have a public health role.
- Published
- 2016