CAPTIVATE Consortium holds annual meeting
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The CAPTIVATE consortium (Correlates of Protective Immunity-driven Investigation of Malaria Vaccine Combination Strategies) recently gathered in Antwerp for an Annual Meeting, bringing together partners from across Europe and Australia to review progress and align on next steps in the development of next-generation malaria vaccines.
Funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, CAPTIVATE aims to advance malaria vaccine research by combining innovative clinical and preclinical approaches with cutting-edge in silico modelling and artificial intelligence. The project focuses on understanding protective immunity against Plasmodium falciparum, identifying target antigens for liver-stage immunity, evaluating optimal combination strategies for a vaccine targeting multiple stages of the parasite lifecycle and developing a GMP facility for live sporozoite production in Europe.
During the meeting, partners presented key achievements across work packages, including progress in vaccine candidate development, clinical trial preparations, and the integration of advanced immunological data. Particular attention was given to the development of an innovative in silico platform that leverages AI and immune sequencing data to better understand vaccine-induced immune responses and guide rational vaccine design.
The discussions also focused on strengthening collaboration across disciplines, including clinical research, immunology, modelling, and omics technologies. This interdisciplinary approach is central to CAPTIVATE’s ambition to accelerate the development of more effective malaria vaccines and address critical knowledge gaps in protective immunity.
In addition, the consortium reviewed upcoming milestones, including planned clinical studies and further refinement of vaccine combinations.
The Annual Meeting provided an important platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and strategic planning, reinforcing the consortium’s shared commitment to advancing innovative solutions in the fight against malaria.
The CAPTIVATE Consortium thanks Anna Rosanas-Urgell (Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp) for presenting on “Sex, drugs and…host factors: P. falciparum sexual conversion” and Lars Hviid (University of Copenhagen) who did not only support the consortium as a member of the Scientific and Ethics Advisory Committee but also provided insights into “Vaccination against placental malaria: snags ahead!”.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101081028. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.