Serum Institute of India's new 'high efficacy' malaria vaccine rolls out in Africa
high efficacy" malaria vaccine co-developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the University of Oxford was officially rolled out on Monday when Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa became the first country to begin administering R21/Matrix-M. The vaccine, which was granted World Health Organisation (WHO) approval last year, is said to have undergone a rigorous regulatory process and clinical assessment and was found to be highly effective and affordable. As a low-dose vaccine, it can be manufactured at speed and scale which is seen as critical to stemming the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.
«Reducing the malaria burden is finally within sight. Today's start of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine roll-out marks a monumental milestone after years of incredible work with our partners at Oxford and Novavax,» said SII CEO Adar Poonawalla.
«At Serum, we believe that it is every person's right to have access to affordable and essential disease prevention. That's why we have committed to producing 100 million doses of R21, which will protect millions of lives and alleviate the burden of this deadly disease for future generations,» he said.
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 of delivering vaccines at scale and low cost, the Pune-headquartered company said it is offering the vaccine at less than USD 4 per dose.
«The roll-out of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine marks the start of a new
