India has formally began helping Africa in its fight against malaria, the vector-borne disease that has infected many and claimed several lives, including those of children.
Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), on Monday (May 20) shipped its first set of malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M™ to Africa.
SII has dispatched as many as 43,200 doses of malaria vaccine to Africa from its Pune facility. This initial shipment is part of 1,63,800 doses of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine that has been specifically allocated for Central African Republic (CAR).
The initial shipment of malaria vaccine will be sent by SII to the CAR, followed by other African countries including South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo in the next coming days.
About malaria vaccine India has sent to Africa
The malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M has been developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford and Novavax.
R21/Matrix-M is the second malaria vaccine authorised for use in children in malaria-endemic regions.
The malaria vaccine leverages Novavax’s Matrix-M adjuvant and has been supported by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), the Wellcome Trust, and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
In a statement, SII said that till date, it has manufactured 25 million doses with a capacity to scale up to 100 million doses annually.
The flag-off ceremony of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine took place at SII in its Pune facility which was attended by US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti; Dr Mehreen Datoo from the University of Oxford; Silvia Taylor from Novavax, and other guests.
In October 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended R21/Matrix-M™ vaccine for use in children, followed by the announcement of its high efficacy of its Phase 3 Trial data results this year.
It took 30 years of research at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute to develop the R21/Matrix-M vaccine.
As per SII, the malaria vaccine is easily deployable, cost effective and affordable, and has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives a year.
“The development of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine represents a great step forward in our battle against this deadly parasite. The quality, affordable vaccines that will be produced through this partnership between Novavax and SII will prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths every year across the globe,” Garcetti said.
“The shipment of the R21/Matrix-M™ Malaria Vaccine to Africa marks a momentous milestone in our collective fight against this life-threatening disease. This achievement is a testament to the power of collaboration and the efforts of our dedicated workforce at the Serum Institute of India, working in partnership with Novavax and the University of Oxford,” Dr Umesh Shaligram, Executive Director, R&D, Serum Institute of India, said,
“As we embark on this critical mission to protect the most vulnerable members of our global community, we remain committed to our core values of innovation, affordability, and accessibility. This is a significant step towards a world free from the burden of malaria,” Dr Shaligram further said.
“The R21/Matrix-M™ vaccine is a vital new tool to help stop the devastating health and economic impact of malaria on nearly half of the world’s population, including the tragic loss of 1,300 children every single day,” John C Jacobs, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax, said.
An annual report by UNICEF in January this year said in Africa, nearly every minute, a child under five dies of malaria. In 2022, there were 249 million malaria cases globally that led to 608,000 deaths in total. Of these deaths, 76 per cent were children under 5 years of age.
Link to article –
Made in India malaria vaccines head to Africa, SII ships first set
