The Serum Institute of India (SII) is joining a network of vaccine producers in the Global South to support more “rapid, agile, and equitable’ responses” to disease outbreaks, said a joint statement on Tuesday.
CEPI will invest $30 million to build upon SII’s capabilities to supply affordable investigational vaccines in any epidemic or pandemic. CEPI, short for Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, is a partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations, launched at Davos, Switzerland, in 2017. Its mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need. SII is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and has an overall production capacity of 4 billion doses annually.
CEPI will use SII’s record in responding to infectious disease outbreaks and expand the company’s ability to swiftly supply investigational vaccines. “This would then enable CEPI-backed vaccine developers to quickly transfer their technology to SII within days or weeks of an outbreak to begin rapid production and equitable distribution of affordable vaccines to affected populations,” said the statement.
In the event of a disease outbreak, SII may be called upon to “promptly supply” investigational vaccines for preclinical and clinical testing as well as large-scale supply. Shortening the time taken to manufacture and validate the first batches of experimental vaccines will be key to respond to an escalating outbreak within just 100 days.
“As a leading vaccine manufacturer, we’re committed to utilising our well-established manufacturing and rapid response capabilities to strengthen epidemic preparedness and increase access to life-saving vaccines for those who need them most at an affordable price. This collaboration will enable us to respond more rapidly and equitably to public health disease outbreaks, particularly in Global South countries where access to life-saving vaccines can be limited,” said Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer (CEO) of SII.
SII is the fourth member of CEPI’s global manufacturing network which includes Aspen in South Africa, Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal, and Bio Farma in Indonesia.
“The addition of SII to the CEPI manufacturing network will be a significant boost to vaccine production efforts in Global South regions and will mean the world is better prepared to achieve the100 Days Mission to develop new vaccines against known or novel infectious diseases within three months of a pandemic threat being recognised,” said the statement.
The 100 Days Mission concept is a part of CEPI’s 2022-26 pandemic plan which aims to have a proposed response to the next ‘Disease X’ by making safe, effective vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics within 100-days of identification. Several vaccine developers are working to achieve this aim. Moderna partnered with CEPI in 2023 to use the company’s mRNA platform to accelerate the development of vaccines against viral disease outbreaks that threaten global health.
CEPI’s investment will help SII in developing, stocking and licensing new vaccines against the network’s priority pathogens. The two sides are studying which CEPI-backed vaccines SII will support.
“As part of CEPI’s global manufacturing network, SII’s world-renowned manufacturing and rapid response capabilities are poised to play a critical role in enabling swift and equitable access to affordable outbreak vaccines for the Global South. Living in an era of heightened epidemic and pandemic risk, evidenced by the increasing prevalence, speed, and spread of outbreaks of infectious disease, we must prepare to confront these threats head-on to avoid another COVID-like catastrophe in the future,” said Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI.
CEPI’s manufacturing network focuses on vaccine makers in the Global South and near areas at high risk of disease outbreaks caused by deadly viral threats like Lassa Fever, Nipah, and other pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential.
SII supplies vaccines to more than 170 countries. In 2022, the company responded swiftly to an outbreak of Sudan ebola virus in Uganda by delivering doses of the investigational ChAdOx1 SUDV vaccine in 80 days.
First Published: Jan 23 2024 | 6:32 PM IST
