STRATEGY

clinical testing. This can give us a crucial head start when a new threat emerges. The focus should be on building capabilities in the Global South and empowering countries to develop ‘fit-for-use’ vaccine candidates.

The pandemic created a sense of urgency, leading to quick collaboration in medical countermeasures and vaccine development. Can the same spirit be mobilised for nonpandemic diseases that affect large populations?

Vaccines are one of the most successful and cost-effective solutions with the power to save lives. Historically, there have been successful international collaborations to combat infectious and tropical diseases. These efforts must be reenergised, in the face of emerging technologies, new logistical and manufacturing challenges, as well as a shifting world order. In addition to that, vaccines are needed for pathogens that are endemic to specific regions but of pandemic potential beyond these regions. We also need to look beyond viral pathogens, including bacterial and other pathogen families.

PATH works with governments, partners such as the WHO, Gavi, UNICEF, scientists and researchers, and manufacturers across 19 diseases. We work very closely with developing country vaccine manufacturers to fast-track vaccine development. With our partners, we developed the first- and second-ever Indian vaccines against Rotavirus. In collaboration with GSK and the WHO we developed and tested the world’s first malaria vaccine (RTS, S) which will now be manufactured by Bharat Biotech in India under a technology transfer program. In Bangladesh, PATH partnered with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh to introduce and scale polio and pneumococcal vaccines, among others.

What key stakeholders need to be involved to make a global vaccine research collaborative a reality?

For a global vaccine research collaborative to succeed, it will need to be a representative, end-to-end global platform, involving stakeholders across the vaccine R&D ecosystem. Vaccine developers, private manufacturers and their networks such as the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network are a key stakeholder, to transform the vision into a reality. National and sub-national governments can define priorities and steer action. Multilateral conveners such as the WHO are key, since these efforts fit into the larger Medical Countermeasures platform; forums such as the G20 and G7 can mobilise political will and action; research institutions across the globe can provide expertise; international partnerships such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and initiatives such as PATH’s Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access can work on accelerating development and delivery of vaccines and ensuring that these efforts contribute to overall preparedness strategies. kalyani.sharma@expressindia.com journokalyani@gmail.com