Abstract

There is hope that 2023 could bring regulatory approval, licensing, and implementation programs for safe and effective adjuvanted vaccines to prevent malaria. Clinical trials involving the two leading adjuvanted malaria vaccines directed to the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP) are ongoing. These vaccines are RTS,S/ASO1 (Mosquirix®) and R21/Matrix-M™ (R21/MM). This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its strategy to eradicate malaria by 2030. The hope is that major advances in global health security from effective malarial vaccines could reduce morbidity and save the lives of millions of people living in malaria-endemic countries to achieve the goals recommended by the WHO. This Editorial aims to give an update on recent findings from key clinical trials on the safety and efficacy of RTS,S/ASO1 and R21/MM malaria vaccines and to provide an insight into the importance of key ongoing clinical trials that will report in early 2023.

Keywords: Editorial, Malaria, Vaccines, Plasmodium falciparum