A new “high efficacy” malaria vaccine jointly developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the University of Oxford was officially rolled out on Monday, with West Africa’s Cote d’Ivoire becoming the first country to begin using the R21/Matrix-M.
The vaccine, which received approval from the World Health Organisation (WHO) last year, is said to have undergone a rigorous regulatory process and clinical evaluation and has been found to be highly effective and cost-effective. Being a low-dose vaccine, it can be produced quickly and at scale, which is considered crucial to curb the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO, SII, said, “Reducing the malaria burden is finally in sight. Today’s start of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine roll-out is an important milestone after years of incredible work with our partners at Oxford and Novavax.”
He added, “At Serum, we believe that every person has the right to have access to affordable and essential disease prevention. That is why we have committed to produce 100 million doses of R21, which will save millions of lives and reduce the burden of this deadly disease on generations to come.”
In anticipation of the roll-out, SII said it has manufactured 25 million doses of the vaccine and is committed to scaling up to 100 million doses annually. In keeping with its aim to deliver vaccines at scale and at a low cost, the Pune-based company said it is offering the vaccine at less than USD 4 per dose.
Professor Adrian Hill, Director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford, said: “The introduction of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine marks the beginning of a new era in malaria control interventions, as this high-efficacy vaccine is now available at a low cost and at a very high scale to the countries most in need. We hope that this vaccine will soon be made available to all African countries that wish to access it.”
R21/Matrix-M was jointly developed by the university and SII, leveraging Novavax’s Matrix-M adjuvant technology. In December 2023, WHO granted it prequalification status, as trials showed the vaccine to be well tolerated, had a good safety profile, and had pain at the injection site and fever as the most frequently occurring adverse events.
Although the number of malaria-related deaths in Côte d’Ivoire has dropped from 3,222 in 2017 to 1,316 in 2020, the deadly disease still kills four people per day, mostly young children, and “remains the leading reason for medical consultation,” according to the country’s health ministry.
A total of 656,600 doses have been received, which will initially vaccinate 250,000 children aged 0 to 23 months in 16 regions of Côte d’Ivoire. The R21/Matrix-M vaccine has also been authorised by Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic.
R21 is the second malaria vaccine available in sub-Saharan Africa after RTS,S and widespread implementation of malaria vaccines, combined with existing prevention methods such as bed nets, is expected to save tens of thousands of young lives each year. In total, 15 African countries are expected to begin rolling out malaria vaccines in 2024 with support from Gavi, and countries plan to reach approximately 6.6 million children with malaria vaccine in 2024 and 2025.
Dr Sania Nishtar, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said: “Africa has suffered the brunt of malaria for too long, and Côte d’Ivoire has suffered more than most. With two safe and effective vaccines, along with other interventions, we can finally win the battle against this deadly disease.” John Jacobs, President and CEO of Novavax, said: “The launch of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine in Côte d’Ivoire is a major breakthrough in the fight to protect vulnerable children from a leading cause of death across the region, and reinforces our mission to create innovative vaccines that improve public health.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)