[Research and development of malaria vaccine in China]

It remains an urgent need to develop effective malaria vaccine for global control of malaria. Application of high technologies such as biotechnology has facilitated the process of vaccine development for malaria. In the past 30 years, a large number of vaccine candidate antigens for malaria have been identified and some of them are currently in clinical trials. Major progress in malaria vaccine development has also been made in China. The PfCP-2.9 blood stage vaccine for malaria has entered clinical studies and some other vaccine candidates including combination malaria vaccine are currently in pre-clinical studies. The availability of various national research programs and international funding has stimulated laboratory and pre-clinical studies of malaria vaccine candidates. It remains a long-term goal to develop a safe and effective malaria vaccine to control and even eliminate the disease in the world, and many issues including malaria immunology and various types of technologies need to be addressed. However, efforts need to be continued toward the goal.