Malaria

Malaria research under FP7

More than 1 million people die each year from malaria and today more than 500 million people fall ill with malaria, mostly kids under five and pregnant women. The causative agent of the disease is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium, the most deadly of which is Plasmodium falciparum. These numbers demonstrate why malaria is still one of the major global killer diseases. In FP6 a portfolio of close to 20 malaria projects with an overall budget of more than € 65 million was established.

A key objective of the FP6 efforts was "Structuring of the European Research Area (ERA)" through large, rationally assembled Integrated Projects and Networks of Excellence. In the area of malaria research this concept translated into three major project initiatives, all in the range of € 15 million, centred around the thematic foci basic research on the malaria parasite and the disease ("BioMalPar"), new malaria drugs ("ANTIMAL") and the development of a malaria vaccine ("EMVDA"). These 3 projects are well established now and synergise with each other in multifold manners, e.g. on PhD training, technology platforms and global partnerships. A number of smaller STREP projects focussed in particular on selected innovative approaches with potential for drugs of vaccine development.

The strategy of utilizing large funding instruments centred around the three major thematic foci basic research, drugs and vaccines, as well as a small number of very focussed innovative research projects has proven to be fruitful in FP6. Under FP7 it is intended to build on the major structural advances achieved under FP6, with a view to further integrate malaria basic research and progress to robust research and management structures for the translation of research results into drugs or vaccine candidate products. In addition, pronounced emphasis shall be put on rationally bundling research into controlling the transmission of disease, in particular targeting the mosquito vector. As a cross-cutting feature, European efforts will attempt to be as much as feasible be embedded in on-going global partnerships and cooperations with research groups from malaria-endemic countries.

FP7-funded malaria research should thus usefully contribute to the global research agenda in malaria research.

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