Sanaria's clinical and manufacturing progress highlighted at International meetings in Baltimore

BALTIMORE, Nov. 08, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Building upon publication of clinical trial results in Nature, PNAS, Lancet Infectious Diseases, and JCI Insight in 2017, Sanaria Inc. is highlighting the work of its many collaborators at a symposium entitled "Moving Toward a PfSPZ Malaria Vaccine for Protecting Travelers and Use in Elimination Campaigns" (session 133) at the 66^th meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Baltimore, and then at the second 2017 International PfSPZ Consortium meeting held at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Malaria is a devastating disease of almost unfathomable impact, which caused an estimated 429,000-730,500 deaths and 212 million clinical cases in 2015. Current control methods are insufficient to achieve malaria elimination in many high transmission areas. Furthermore, malaria poses a significant risk for travelers and military personnel. From 2000-2014 there were 22,029 hospitalizations due to malaria in the US of returning travelers, and an average of 11 deaths/year caused by malaria. "Our goal is the development, licensure and fielding of a vaccine to prevent malaria. Our progress is dependent upon the continued scientific support of our collaborators from around the world and it is a great pleasure to have so many excellent biomedical scientists come together on these two occasions to showcase and honor their contributions," said Stephen L. Hoffman, CEO of Sanaria.

The symposium on Wednesday morning, hosted by CAPT Judith Epstein of the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC, Bethesda, MD) and Professor Peter Kremsner, Director of the Institute for Tropical Medicine (Tübingen, Germany), will update the conference on results of clinical trials in USA for protecting military personnel, in Mali where attack rates of malaria are incredibly high, in Germany where a vaccine regimen for travelers is being optimized, and in Equatorial Guinea where two different PfSPZ-based vaccines are being compared.

The International PfSPZ Consortium (I-PfSPZ-C), starting on Thursday afternoon and finishing on Friday afternoon, will bring together over 130 researchers from 30+ institutions in 14 different countries. The whole of Sanaria's clinical research portfolio will be covered in a highly interactive forum during which the results of ongoing clinical trials and plans for the next set of trials will be discussed and developed.  Particularly exciting will be discussion of the plans for moving to Phase 3 clinical trials in the USA, Germany, and Equatorial Guinea, as these trials will provide the clinical data that will be a key component of applications for vaccine licensure/registration in the USA (FDA), Europe (EMA), and Africa (specific regulatory authorities). Professor Kremsner said, "PfSPZ vaccines have consistently been shown to be safe and protective in the USA, Europe, and Africa. The enormous efforts from the participants in the I-PfSPZ-C, and the continued open, adaptive nature of our discussions have facilitated this progress." Professor Marcel Tanner, President of the Swiss Academy of Sciences said, "The next step will be demonstrating that a PfSPZ vaccine, when combined with an optimal package of control measures, will halt malaria transmission, enabling elimination."

About Sanaria Inc.:

Sanaria Inc. is a socially focused, for-profit company founded in 2003. Sanaria's mission is to develop and commercialize whole-parasite malaria vaccines that confer high-level, long-lasting protection against malaria. Sanaria's corporate headquarters, administrative, research, development, and manufacturing operations are located in Rockville, Maryland. Sanaria's website is sanaria.com.

Forward-Looking Statements 

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These factors include, without limitation, the Company's ability to raise sufficient funds, the regulatory approval process, dependence on third parties, clinical trials results, the Company's patent portfolio, ability to commercialize the product(s), dependence on key personnel, and other risks associated with product development.

For more information contact Alexander Hoffman ([email protected]).

SOURCE Sanaria Inc.