Progress and new horizons toward a VAR2CSA-based placental malaria vaccine

Introduction: Several malaria vaccines are under various phases of development with some promising results. In placental malaria (PM) a deliberately anti-disease approach is considered as many studies have underlined the key role of VAR2CSA protein, which therefore represents the leading vaccine candidate. However, evidence indicates that VAR2CSA antigenic polymorphism remains an obstacle to overcome.Areas covered: This review analyzes the progress made thus far in developing a VAR2CSA-based vaccine, and addresses the current issues and challenges that must be overcome to develop an effective PM vaccine.Expert opinion: Phase I trials of PAMVAC and PRIMVAC VAR2CSA vaccines have shown more or less satisfactory results with regards to safety and immunogenicity. The second generation of VAR2CSA-based vaccines could benefit from optimization approaches to broaden the activity spectrum against various placenta-binding isolates through continued advances in the structural understanding of the interaction with CSA.