Isolation and banking of a P. falciparum field isolate for the Controlled Human Malaria Challenge

Controlled Human Malaria Infection (CHMI) involves intentionally infecting healthy individuals with malaria parasites, monitoring, and treating the resulting infection at a pre-determined endpoint. CHMI has been used for the evaluation of new vaccines and drug candidates for the down selection of the best candidates, accelerating the development of new malaria interventions while saving millions of funds. CHMI may be initiated through the administration of sporozoites by mosquito bite or Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes (iRBC) by direct intravenous injection. In iRBC-initiated CHMI, the number of parasites initiating the infection can be estimated more accurately, making it better at modelling parasite growth and hence evaluation of blood-stage malaria vaccines. There are few P. falciparum iRBCs banks available to support the increasing need for induced blood stage infection studies in LMIC. Furthermore, available parasite strains are made from standard laboratory strains which may not be ideal representatives of the current field strains.

Enabling Technologies & Assays
Vector Control

Oct 2022 — Mar 2023

$60,610

Tanzania