EU Malaria Fund: Sanaria receives substantial investment into its proprietary malaria platform

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene approximately 4,900 global health professionals representing academia, government, and the private sector were informed about the latest investment of the EU Malaria Fund.

The EU Malaria Fund is a public-private partnership providing a novel funding instrument to address market failures in infectious diseases with significant relevance to public health globally. The EU Malaria Fund has been initiated by kENUP Foundation and is managed by a General Partner under the supervision of Investitionsbank Berlin.

On November 13, 2020, Sanaria received €12.9M for the development of two malaria vaccines, one malaria prophylactic, as well as an initial proof-of-concept for an oral SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Sanaria’s PfSPZ Vaccine is a radiation-attenuated whole-organism vaccine, meaning it is a weakened form of the parasite that causes malaria. PfSPZ Vaccine elicits an immunological response in the body against the malaria pathogen, without the individual getting sick. This results in robust and durable protection. On the verge of Phase III clinical trials, PfSPZ Vaccine is positioned to be the world’s first malaria vaccine to receive marketing authorization. Sanaria’s second generation vaccine, Sanaria PfSPZ-CVac (Chemoprophylaxis Vaccine), focuses on increased potency and decreased costs. The funding also advances the research and development of human monoclonal antibodies from multiple candidates based on potency and manufacturability in order to provide immediate short-term protection against malaria. Finally, a portion of the funding will be used to advance OraCOV, an oral, self-administered vaccine candidate against COVID-19, based on Sanaria’s work in malaria.

Dr. Stephen L. Hoffman, Sanaria’s founder and CEO said, “We applaud the EU Malaria Fund for addressing this critical funding gap and we are grateful and honored to be the recipient of this investment.”

“We wholeheartedly welcome the efforts of Sanaria, who for many years have been at the forefront of innovation and are bringing novel concepts to the table potentially reducing the unacceptable burden of malaria,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the World Health Organisation’s Global Malaria Programme at the online signature event.

Holm Keller, Co-Managing Director of EUMF and Chairman of kENUP Foundation said: “Sanaria has developed one of the most advanced malaria vaccine candidates worldwide. We hope that this investment will help towards the eradication of malaria “.

More information can be found at https://www.controlmalaria.eu