The Republic of Equatorial Guinea is set to begin clinical trials for Sanaria PfSPZ, a new preventive malaria vaccine.
The clinical trial, which is in progress in other countries in Africa such as Tanzania, Kenya, Mali, and Burkina Faso, as well as Germany and the U.S., is now poised to begin in Equatorial Guinea.
The Government of Equatorial Guinea, in partnership with Marathon Oil, Noble Energy, and Atlantic Methanol Production, three US energy companies, planned the trial.
"We are delighted to have the Ifakara Health Institute, an institute of Tanzania, working with Sanaria and partners in Equatorial Guinea to advance the Phase 3 clinical trials and elimination campaigns of mass vaccine administration,” said Dr. Hassan Mshinda, director general of the Commission of Tanzania on Science and Technology, the African organization that provided funding for the first PfSPZ trial in Africa.
The vaccine, made by Sanaria Inc., recently received fast track approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. This designation facilitates the development of drugs to treat serious conditions, like Malaria, and get the new drugs to the patient in less time.