Clinical Trials Platform

The Clinical Trials Platform at the Tübingen Institute of Tropical Medicine supports the development of new agents and vaccines against infectious diseases. It focuses on conducting experimental studies and first trials on humans. A special feature is the human malaria infection model, developed in Tübingen, which induces the disease under controlled conditions. This enables testing of antiparasitic efficacy even in the early stages of clinical development. The malaria infection model is based on an injection of live sporozoites which is the form the malaria parasite is in when it is transmitted by mosquitoes. This model enables studies to be conducted on the preventive effects of the substance DSM265 and on the effect of innate protective factors. It also permits testing of the first highly effective malaria vaccine. Drugs that are successful in these tests are subsequently developed in large trials that are conducted in areas where they are the most urgently needed.