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$4.6 Million Funds Malaria Vaccine Candidate Tests

January 30, 2025 • 12:01 pm CST
WHO Malaria Map 2025
(Vax-Before-Travel)

Ocean Biomedical recently announced that its Scientific Co-founder, Dr. Jonathan Kurtis, MD, PhD, and his research team have received additional funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance their malaria vaccine research.

With the support of a $4.6 million non-governmental Foundation grant, Dr. Kurtis’ team is now testing three vaccine candidates in non-human primates. These candidates aim to block the malaria parasite’s ability to enter and exit red blood cells.

The research also explores the feasibility of using lipid-encapsulated messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology as a delivery mechanism.

In December 2024, Dr. Kurtis secured a $3.5 million NIH grant to identify vaccine targets further to protect against severe malaria in children.

Malaria remains a devastating global health challenge, claiming the lives of over 500,000 children annually in sub-Saharan Africa. 

As of January 30, 2025, two malaria vaccines are available in Africa. However, they are not available in the U.S.

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