This project is the third part of a 5-year research program entitled "Malaria Infection Studies in Thailand (MIST)" and known as MIST3. MIST3's primary objectives are to assess the safety of the PvRII/Matrix-M vaccine candidate in healthy adult Thai volunteers and to establish whether the PvRII/Matrix-M vaccine can demonstrate a reduced parasite multiplication rate in vaccinated volunteers compared to a controlled group (placebo vaccine) in a blood-stage controlled human malaria infection model. This study will recruit up to 36 eligible healthy volunteers aged 20-55 in Thailand at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University. Eighteen volunteers will receive three doses of the PvRII/Matrix-M candidate vaccine, and 18 volunteers will receive three doses of the placebo vaccine. Safety and immunogenicity will be evaluated after each dose as per protocol. Approximately four weeks after receiving the third vaccination, 24 volunteers will undergo blood-stage CHMI with Plasmodium vivax. The volunteers will be monitored closely as in-patients in the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and treated according to the Research Proposal Submission Form. This study is funded by the UK Wellcome Trust. The grant reference number are Oxford/MORU: 212336/Z/18/Z and 212336/Z/18/A, and Mahidol University: 212336/A/18/Z and 212336/A/18/A
Summary of trial design: Phase II, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial with CHMI, designed to assess the safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy of PvRII/Matrix-M vaccine. Overview: This is a randomized controlled single-centre Phase II P. vivax blood-stage CHMI trial to assess the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the candidate malaria vaccine PvRII/Matrix-M. Healthy Thai adults aged between 20 and 55 years will be recruited and randomized at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University in Bangkok. Vaccination group: Up to 18 healthy adults aged between 20 and 55 years will be recruited. These volunteers will receive three doses of the PvRII/Matrix-M vaccine intramuscularly at months 0, 1, and 6. Approximately three to four weeks post-boost (3rd vaccination), 12 volunteers will undergo P. vivax blood-stage CHMI, induced by injection of P. vivax infected erythrocytes. Control group: Up to 18 healthy adults aged between 20 and 55 years will be recruited. These volunteers will receive three doses of HBV vaccine intramuscularly at months 0, 1, and 6. 12 volunteers will undergo P. vivax blood-stage CHMI, induced by injection of P. vivax infected erythrocytes. Volunteers will have blood taken at regular intervals following vaccination and in the post-CHMI period to assess the immune response to vaccination and subsequent challenge, as well as parasite growth dynamics and gametocytaemia. Close monitoring will continue until volunteers meet the criteria for treatment or until 28 days after the challenge, when treatment will be started empirically. Therapy will be with a standard course of chloroquine where not contraindicated. As infection will be induced via intravenous injection of blood-stage parasites, there will be no liver-stage infection and no hypnozoite formation, thereby eliminating the need for radical cure with primaquine therapy. Follow-up at the study site will be up to 1 year after antimalarial treatment.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
36
blood stage Plasmodium vivax malaria vaccine
HBV Vaccine
Faculty of Tropical Medicine
Bangkok, Thailand
solicited local adverse event
occurrence of solicited local reactogenicity signs and symptoms
Time frame: 7 days following each vaccination
solicited systemic adverse event
occurrence of solicited systemic reactogenicity signs and symptoms
Time frame: 7 days following each vaccination
unsolicited adverse events
Occurrence of unsolicited adverse events
Time frame: 28 days following each vaccination
safety laboratory measures
Number of participants with abnormal laboratory test results
Time frame: 28 days following each vaccination
serious adverse events
Occurrence of serious adverse events during the whole study duration
Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year
feasibility of primary P. vivax blood-stage CHMI
successful infection (development of detectable persistent parasitaemia by thick blood film +/- clinical symptoms)
Time frame: within 21 days following CHMI
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.