Polyphosphazene Presenters for the Mulitmeric Protein Malaria Vaccine

There is a critical need for the development of malaria vaccine to protect military and civilian personnel. It has been demonstrated that the PfMSP1-42 protein, a leading vaccine candidate, might require presentation in a multimeric form to achieve the optimum efficiency. Parallel Solutions Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop water-soluble polyphosphazene based carriers for the effective multimerization of the PfMSP1-42 protein. PSI has previously shown that polyphosphazene polyelectrolytes can effectively bind protein molecules in multimeric non-covalent complexes, which demonstrated superior performance in vivo when compared with alum and other adjuvants. These interactions result from the conformational adjustability of the macromolecule, the diversity of attachable ligands and the high functional density and multimeric display. The lead candidate, PCPP, has demonstrated an excellent safety profile. PSI will screen already synthesized polyphosphazene compounds for the optimal binding characteristics and refine polymer structures as necessary. In Phase I, we will identify and develop polyphosphazene-PfMSP1-42 protein complexes capable of multimeric protein presentation without affecting the conformational epitopes.