MVI advisory body gains added expertise
The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) recently named some of the world’s most eminent malaria scientists and vaccinologists to its Vaccine Science Portfolio Advisory Council (VSPAC)—a group of external experts tasked with providing strategic input and advice on MVI’s scientific portfolio and overall research and development program.
The new members of the VSPAC are: Dr. Norman Baylor, President and CEO of Biologics Consulting Group, Inc. and former Director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review in the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; Dr. Kamini Mendis, an independent consultant on malaria and tropical medicine, formerly the Coordinator of Malaria Treatment and Malaria Elimination at the World Health Organization; Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, Co-Director and Chief Scientific Officer of VGTI Florida; and Dr. Fidel Zavala, Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.
"We're fortunate to have some of the world's most distinguished scientists advising us on MVI's malaria vaccine research and development strategy," said Dr. David C. Kaslow, Director of MVI and former chair of the VSPAC. "The expertise of the VSPAC members is a critical resource to realizing our near-term strategic goal of supporting development of a first-generation malaria vaccine that could protect millions against disease and death, as well as our long-term goals of developing more highly effective second-generation vaccines, including vaccines to support future elimination and eradication efforts."
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MVI collaborates to create new central "reference" lab
MVI, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and Imperial College London establish collaboration to guide selection and prioritization of malaria vaccine candidates
In response to a critical gap in developing malaria vaccines, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) announced a new collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Imperial College London to measure the capacity of different vaccine candidates in human clinical testing to elicit an immune response aimed at protecting against deadly malaria parasites.
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2012 Malaria Vaccine Advocacy Fellowship
June 19–22, 2012 | Accra, Ghana
The 2012 Malaria Vaccine Advocacy Fellowship brought together 19 scientists and researchers from 10 eastern, western, and southern African countries over the course of the week. Run by the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative in collaboration with Burness Communications, the program aims to bridge the worlds of malaria vaccine science and policymaking at national, regional, and international levels.
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Planning for policy decisions on future vaccine use
Country planning for evidence-based decisions on the use of future malaria vaccines is making progress at various levels in a number of African countries—as illustrated by recent activities in Tanzania and Kenya. The Tanzania Malaria Vaccine Secretariat, set up in 2009 to begin early planning for policy decisions on possible malaria vaccine introduction, met on June 13 to finalize plans for developing a policy brief on the most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate—RTS,S, the candidate vaccine being developed through a collaboration involving the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, GlaxoSmithKline, and research centers in Africa. A roadmap for completing this work, presented to national stakeholders in February, sets 2015 as the year of completion and lays out the activities planned by the secretariat until then.
It is envisioned that with appropriate planning at the global, regional, and national levels, governments of malaria-endemic countries will have the information they need to make timely and evidence-based decisions on the use of a malaria vaccine in their national health systems. To that end, Tanzania and other countries have begun collecting a range of data as part of a malaria vaccine decision-making framework. These data range from information on the local burden of malaria, to the use of current malaria control strategies, and local community perceptions of malaria and vaccines.
Visit the Malaria Vaccine Decision-Making Framework website to find out more about this work at the country level.
Malaria Vaccine Decision-Making Framework website redesigned
The Malaria Vaccine Decision-Making Framework website provides information about paving the way for decisions on possible malaria vaccine introduction in the future and how countries can prepare and plan accordingly. Over the last few months, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative worked with Forum One Communications to improve and redesign the website to enhance functionality and visual appeal. Website visitors can use an interactive map
to see the progress African countries are making, download the planning guide, and view a tutorial about the guide.
The redesigned site launched in June 2012. Click here to visit the site.
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