New study makes economic case for placental malaria vaccine, with first-time mothers standing to benefit most

New research from the ADVANCE_VAC4PM consortium, led by the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI), provides compelling evidence that a vaccine against placental malaria could be a cost-effective tool for protecting mothers and newborns in sub-Saharan Africa, with the greatest benefit seen when the vaccine is given to women before their first pregnancy.

June 2026

For EVI, this is the culmination of more than two decades of commitment. Placental malaria has been a priority for EVI since 2003, and the organisation has played a central role in supporting the development of both PAMVAC and PRIMVAC, two of the most advanced vaccine candidates in this field. Both have now successfully completed Phase I clinical trials, demonstrating safety and the ability to generate an immune response.

Placental malaria poses a serious threat to pregnant women and their newborns across sub-Saharan Africa. Of an estimated 36 million pregnancies in the region in 2023, around 12.4 million were exposed to malaria infection. Existing preventive tools are increasingly undermined by drug and insecticide resistance, making new approaches urgently needed.

The study, led by researchers from Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi and EVI in Heidelberg, and published in the journal Vaccines in April 2026, used mathematical modelling to estimate the potential value of a placental malaria vaccine before full efficacy trial data are available. By integrating regionally relevant epidemiologic, clinical, and cost data, the findings show that a vaccine targeted at first-time mothers could deliver strong value for money, even under conservative vaccine efficacy, uptake and price assumptions. Women pregnant for the first time are at highest risk because they have not yet built up natural immunity, making them, and their babies, the most important group to protect.

Additional evaluations will be needed to address some limitations, including the exclusion of maternal outcomes and long-term infant morbidity from the model, and the use of assumed rather than observed vaccine efficacy. Also, the lack of disaggregated data prevented a separate cost-effectiveness analysis for secundigravidae, who still experience a meaningful burden of placental malaria and adverse perinatal outcomes, potentially underestimating the benefits of vaccination in this group.

“Robust cost-effectiveness evidence is essential for sustainable vaccine roll-out in low- and middle-income countries, ensuring that new interventions deliver meaningful public health benefits while remaining affordable and accessible. These findings reinforce the importance of continued investments in placental malaria vaccine development and the need for real-world trial data to support future economic evaluations.”, states Dr Flavia D'Alessio, EVI’s Head of Vaccine Research and author.

For EVI, these results reaffirm what has driven its work on placental malaria for over twenty years: the conviction that the most vulnerable mothers and newborns deserve better protection, and that the science to deliver it is within reach.

The paper is available open access: Chinkhumba J et al., Vaccines 2026, 14(5), 378. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines14050378

Learn more about ADAVANCE-VAC4PM.

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