Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and Rinda Ubuzima plan to test MMV371 in about 80 people in Rwanda, assessing safety and drug exposure as they study a long-acting malaria-prevention approach.
BusinessDay reported Nov. 2 that the organizations had announced a Phase 1b trial. ClinicalTrials.gov names MMV as sponsor and Rinda Ubuzima’s Kigali site as the location. The registry classifies the randomized, placebo-controlled study as Phase 1 and lists it as “not yet recruiting.” It is designed for healthy adults and adolescents ages 12 to 50.
The study will assess safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics, or how the body processes the drug. Whether MMV371 prevents malaria is an exploratory measure. Safety monitoring over 24 weeks includes adverse events, injection-site reactions and clinically significant laboratory, vital-sign and electrocardiogram (ECG) findings.
A UK Health Research Authority summary concerns a study of MMV055 alone or combined with MMV371. It cites prior MMV371 exposure in 18 healthy volunteers, with single doses reaching 446 milligrams, and describes the safety findings to date as acceptable. The summary does not report evidence that MMV371 prevents malaria. It describes reduced dosing frequency as a development goal for long-acting injections, not an established benefit of MMV371.
The trial is planned amid a substantial malaria burden in the region. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates malaria caused 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths worldwide in 2024. The WHO African Region accounted for 579,000 deaths, or 95% of global malaria deaths. WHO also confirms partial artemisinin resistance in Rwanda, after the resistance emerged earlier in the Greater Mekong subregion.
ClinicalTrials.gov gives Sept. 1, 2026, as the estimated start date and March 1, 2028, as the estimated primary and overall completion dates. The start estimate preceded BusinessDay’s report, but the registry still says “not yet recruiting”; its public entry does not confirm enrollment or dosing. The record was last updated April 23, 2026.
