Ocean Biomedical Advances Malaria Vaccine Research With New NIH Funding & Expedited Development Pathway

Ocean Biomedical recently announced its Scientific Co-founder, Dr. Jonathan Kurtis, MD, PhD, and his research team have received additional significant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance their groundbreaking malaria vaccine research. In parallel, recent US FDA Guidance on lipid-encapsulated vaccines may offer an expedited development pathway for their innovative approach.

Malaria remains a devastating global health challenge, claiming the lives of over 500,000 children annually in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite hundreds of vaccine development efforts, few have succeeded, largely due to ineffective target selection strategies. Dr. Kurtis and his team have taken a novel approach by studying naturally occurring immune responses in children who have developed resistance to malaria.

Through longitudinal studies of children frequently exposed to infected mosquitoes, the researchers identified a unique protein—glutamic acid-rich protein (GARP)—on the surface of malaria-infected red blood cells. Notably, children who naturally resisted severe malaria were found to have developed antibodies against GARP. This discovery, supported by multiple NIH and non-governmental grants, has paved the way for vaccine development.

With the support of a $4.6 million non-governmental Foundation grant, Dr. Kurtis’ team is now testing three vaccine candidates in non-human primates. These candidates aim to block the malaria parasite’s ability to enter and exit red blood cells. The research also explores the feasibility of using lipid-encapsulated messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology as a delivery mechanism.

Building on clinical data from millions of individuals who received lipid-encapsulated mRNA vaccines, the FDA has issued new guidance that could facilitate a faster transition to first-in-human trials. Ocean Biomedical intends to leverage this opportunity, with a potential to initiate human trials as early as 4Q 2025.

In December 2024, Dr. Kurtis secured an additional $3.5 million NIH grant to further identify vaccine targets to protect against severe malaria in children. Commenting on this milestone, Dr. Kurtis stated “We are thrilled to receive this additional funding and are encouraged by the emerging data from our human cohort studies. FDA’s new guidance for lipid-encapsulated vaccines will bring us closer to translating years of research into a potential breakthrough malaria vaccine.”

Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, Chairman and Co-founder of Ocean Biomedical, added “Dr. Kurtis’ work continues to gain significant validation, reinforcing our confidence in the potential of our patented technology. We look forward to further exploring the GARP pathway to develop a vaccine that could have a transformative impact on global health.”

Dr. Kurtis is the Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, the Director of Laboratories at the Center for International Health Research, and the Executive Director of the MD/PhD Program at Brown University. He is also a co-founder of Ocean Biomedical.

Malaria Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa:

• Statement: “Malaria remains a devastating global health challenge, claiming the lives of over 500,000 children annually in sub-Saharan Africa.”
• Citation: According to UNICEF, in 2022, there were 249 million malaria cases globally, leading to 608,000 deaths, with 76% of these deaths occurring in children under 5 years of age. This translates to over 1,000 child deaths daily, many of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.
  UNICEF DATA

Ocean Biomedical, Inc. is a Providence, Rhode Island-based biopharma company with an innovative business model that accelerates the development and commercialization of scientifically compelling assets from research universities and medical centers. Ocean Biomedical deploys the funding and expertise to move new therapeutic candidates efficiently from the laboratory to the clinic, to the world. Ocean Biomedical is currently developing five promising discoveries that have the potential to achieve life-changing outcomes in lung cancer, brain cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, and the prevention and treatment of malaria. The Ocean Biomedical team is working on solving some of the world’s toughest problems, for the people who need it most. To learn more, visit www.oceanbiomedical.com.