Clinical Research Directory

Serological Testing and Treatment for Plasmodium Vivax Malaria: a Trial in Ethiopia and Madagascar

The resilience of P. vivax to malaria elimination efforts is due to its ability to form dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that reactivate weeks to months after the initial infection causing recurrent episodes of malaria (relapses) and ongoing parasite transmission. Relapses account for a majority of recurrent infections and clinical cases of P. vivax malaria, and therefore have a significant effect on morbidity at the individual level. With current technology, it is not possible to directly measure hypnozoite biomarkers. Rather than directly detecting hypnozoites, our team developed an indirect approach by measuring antibodies induced by the primary blood-stage infection. Antibodies to different blood-stage antigens decay at different rates. Measuring antibodies to a carefully selected panel of P. vivax antigens can aid to identify individuals who have been infected within the previous 9 months (approximately the lifespan of hypnozoites). A serological test based on selected P. vivax antigens can detect recent exposure and predict future relapses. Coupling this test with a safe and efficacious primaquine treatment regimen, results in a population-based intervention to target the hypnozoite reservoir. This intervention is referred to as Plasmodium vivax Serological Testing and Treatment (PvSeroTAT). PvSTATEM is a cluster randomised trial in Madagascar and Ethiopia. This study will provide insights into the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of the PvSeroTAT approach. In this study, individuals, randomised by clusters, will be tested for the presence of serological markers of a recent P. vivax infection, followed by a targeted drug treatment intervention aimed at killing P. vivax hypnozoites.

Efficacy of Chloroquine-Primaquine Treatment for Uncomplicated Plasmodium Vivax Malaria

The study was designed to evaluate the current efficacy of this combination therapy against P. vivax, given the possibility of misuse or inadequate adherence to the regimen due to its lengthy treatment duration, in one of a vivax-endemic area in southwest Ethiopia. A 42-day in vivo drug efficacy study was carried out as an open, two arm clinical trial involving 192 patients with uncomplicated P. vivax mono infection. Participants were allocated into two groups: supervised (n = 96) and unsupervised (n = 96). Both groups received CQ, 25 mg/kg over 3 days) and PQ, 0.25 mg/kg/day for 14 days). In the supervised group, treatment was administered under direct monitoring by healthcare providers and follow up was scheduled according to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended drug efficacy testing protocol. Whereas patients in the unsupervised group were instructed to take their medication at home without direct monitoring and were advised to adhere to the treatment regimen. Their medication adherence and malaria episodes were monitored through scheduled phone follow ups.

This is a Clinical Study to Assess Whether the Combination of SJ733 and Tafenoquine Will be a Safe and Rapidly Acting Anti-malarial for the Radical Cure of P. Vivax Malaria

The goal of this Phase 2b study is to examine the safety and efficacy of the combination of SJ733, an investigational agent, and tafenoquine for the radical cure of uncomplicated P. vivax malaria monoinfection in adult participants and determine the contributions of SJ733 to the effect. SJ733 will be administered in a 1-, 2-, or 3-day treatment schedule in combination with a single dose of tafenoquine.

Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of the Vivaxin Vaccine for Malaria Caused by Plasmodium Vivax."

Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of a malaria vaccine named Vivaxin against the protozoan Plamodium vivax in participants with no prior malaria infection