The China Mail - IAVI and IPD Sign Agreement Formalizing Collaboration to Advance Vaccine Development, Manufacturing, and Access in Africa

• Agreement signed to establish collaboration between IAVI and IPD

• New partnership aims to accelerate vaccine development and manufacturing for priority pathogens that disproportionately impact Africa

• Aligns with Africa's regional vaccine manufacturing agenda and global priorities for pandemic preparedness

IAVI, a nonprofit scientific research organization dedicated to addressing urgent global health challenges including HIV, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), and the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), a non-profit foundation focused on equitable, sustainable, and affordable access to health in Senegal, Africa, and worldwide, have signed an agreement to formally collaborate for vaccine development, manufacturing, and access in Africa. Leaders from the organizations met in Dakar to sign the agreement at the week-long celebration of IPD's 100-year anniversary.

With the signing of this agreement, IAVI and IPD are establishing a collaboration to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize a range of novel vaccine candidates for both endemic and emerging infectious disease (EID) threats - all manufactured using a common vaccine production platform.

IAVI is a global leader in the development of the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) platform for vaccine candidates against priority EIDs that are endemic to Africa, with the intent to develop an end-to-end platform for flexible, low-cost vaccine production. The EIDs in IAVI's portfolio include Lassa virus - notably, the first-ever Phase 2 clinical trial of a Lassa vaccine in West Africa in partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) - Marburg virus, and Ebolaviruses. IPD is a leader in manufacturing vaccines and diagnostics essential to African populations, with expertise in epidemic intelligence, surveillance, vaccine stockpiling, and outbreak response. The organization also provides healthcare solutions and laboratory services and engages in cutting-edge biomedical research.

IAVI and IPD share a common commitment to ensuring the success of Africa's New Public Health Order, coordinated by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in enabling the African vaccine manufacturing industry to develop, produce, and supply over 60% of the total vaccine doses required on the continent by 2040. The IAVI-IPD partnership also aligns with IAVI's recently signed memorandum of understanding with Africa CDC to enhance vaccine and antibody research capacity in Africa.

"This agreement represents an important advancement in vaccine development and manufacturing capacity in Africa," said Dr. Amadou Sall, CEO of IPD. "At IPD, we are committed to ensuring that vaccines critical to the health of our communities are not only developed but also manufactured and distributed sustainably and equitably from within the continent. Our collaboration with IAVI leverages the strengths of both organizations to create innovative solutions that address pressing public health challenges in Africa and beyond, including the development of outbreak vaccines to ensure rapid and effective responses to emerging disease threats. Together, we are building a future where African-led vaccine production meets the needs of our populations and strengthens global health security."

"IAVI is fully supportive of the African continent's goals for local manufacturing and is committed to contributing to the success of this mission. We believe that translating this aspiration into impact will require innovative partnerships as well as the manufacturing of much-needed vaccines that target priority public threats identified by African public health leaders. This partnership between IPD and IAVI will provide concrete examples of prioritized vaccines being manufactured in Africa and the development of solutions to enable equitable and affordable access to these vaccines," said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of IAVI. "Specifically, we are working to advance a range of vaccines targeting priority pathogens that are all produced on a common manufacturing platform. We believe this will accelerate timelines, increase probability of successful technology transfer, manage the unpredictable demand for vaccines targeting outbreak-associated pathogens, and promote long-term sustainability for African manufacturers."

The IAVI-IPD partnership will initially focus on the manufacturing and commercialization of IAVI's rVSV-Lassa vaccine candidate, with the potential to advance additional vaccine candidates, including those designed to address multiple filoviruses targets, as well as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus, and other pathogens prioritized by global and African public health authorities. The partnership includes other collaborative activities across the vaccine development continuum and will enable IAVI and IPD to identify additional partners to maximize the synergies, probability of success, and speed of efforts grounded on the African continent to address the public health needs of African populations. Areas of further collaboration will include clinical development, regulatory science, immunologic bridging strategies, epidemiology, and other priority disciplines that support the goals of Africa's New Public Health Order.

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About IAVI
IAVI is a non-profit scientific research organization dedicated to addressing global, unmet health challenges including HIV, tuberculosis, and a range of emerging infectious diseases. Its mission is to translate scientific discoveries into affordable, globally accessible public health tools. Read more at www.iavi.org.

IAVI has more than 20 years of experience conducting vaccine and antibody clinical trials in partnership with African collaborators - including for HIV, TB, and EIDs. Currently, IAVI's rVSV-based EID portfolio includes a Sudan ebolavirus vaccine candidate supported by the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA); a Lassa fever vaccine candidate supported by CEPI and the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership; and a Marburg virus vaccine candidate supported by BARDA and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

About IPD
IPD works to accelerate equitable, sustainable, and affordable access to health in Africa. As a Senegalese not-for-profit foundation recognized as being of public utility, IPD provides communities with healthcare solutions and laboratory services, engages in cutting-edge biomedical research and innovation, manufactures vaccines and diagnostics essential to African populations, develops human capital, and engages in public health activities such as epidemic intelligence, outbreak response, and surveillance. IPD is the only WHO-prequalified vaccine manufacturer in Africa.

For more information about the centenary, visit https://institutpasteurdakar.sn/centenary/, and to learn more about the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, visit www.InstitutPasteurDakar.sn and follow us on social media @PasteurDakar.

IAVI Media Contact
William Dekker
+254 719 043 000
[email protected]

IPD Media Contact
Marie Vianey Afangbedji
+221 77 835 46 43
[email protected]

SOURCE: IAVI

C.Smith--ThChM