How the UK quietly became a research powerhouse in the fight against malaria
The UK has emerged as a research powerhouse in the fight against malaria, with UK-based institutions leading major international research programmes in genetic engineering of mosquitoes. A state-of-the-art lab in Tanzania is using CRISPR gene-editing to block the development of Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria.
A state-of-the-art research lab in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, is using CRISPR gene-editing to modify mosquito eggs and block the development of Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria. The lab, built in Spain and imported to the Ifakara Health Institute, holds around 10,000 mosquitoes at any one time. The genetic engineering technology was initially devised at Imperial College London. UK-based institutions are leading two of the three major international research programmes in this field. The World Health Organisation approved a malaria vaccine developed by GSK in 2021, and another from Oxford University's Jenner Institute in 2023. Field trials for the gene-edited mosquitoes are set to begin in 2028.
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