Under the coordination of the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI), sixteen projects are devoted to the acceleration of malaria vaccine development of which two novel vaccine candidates recently received ethical and regulatory approval to start clinical development. The two new vaccine candidates – called P27A and AMA1-DiCo- form part of EVI’s sustained commitment to support the development of new solutions and strategies to combat malaria.The major objectives of AMA1-DiCo and P27A -which are technically and financially supported by EVI- are to assess the clinical safety and immunogenicity of the two vaccine candidates. Whereas AMA1 was discovered initially during investigations surrounding the role of human antibodies in naturally acquired immunity in children in different endemic populations in Africa, P27A was identified as potential novel vaccine candidate through genome mining. Under coordination by EVI, each of the projects is undertaken by an international consortium involving partners from both public and private sector from Europe, USA, and Africa. Results of the phase I clinical trials for both projects are expected for 2015/16.