At this symposium, the
Serum Institute of India
(SII), PATH, World
Health Organization
(WHO) and Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation
(BMGF) with support
from the Department of
Biotechnology celebrated
the clinical development,
manufacturing and scale-
up of MenAfriVac® and
India’s contribution
to a global public
health success story.
Meningitis—a serious
infection of the thin lining
that surrounds the brain
and spinal cord—can
occur anywhere but is
most prevalent in Africa’s
sub-Saharan meningitis
belt, an area that stretches
across 26 countries from
Senegal in the west to
Ethiopia in the east, and
has an at-risk population
of about 430 million.
In 2001, in partnership
with WHO and SII,
the PATH launched
the Meningitis Vaccine
Project (MVP), an
initiative dedicated to
developing a low-cost
vaccine that would end
meningitis A epidemics
in Africa. MenAfriVac®
is a conjugate vaccine
against serogroup A
meningococcal meningitis,
the strain of meningitis
that has plagued sub-
Saharan Africa with
debilitating epidemics
for more than a century.
Speaking at the meeting,
Dr Vijay Raghavan said
that India’s vaccine
industry was based on
a strong foundation of
competitive advantage led
by technical capability.
Its vaccine innovation
and global partnerships
had contributed to its
multinational public
health footprint, thus
ensuring a great future
for its vaccine industry
and a big-time impact
of ‘Make in India.’
In his opening remarks,
His Excellency Mr Ali
Illiassou, Ambassador
of Niger, stressed on the
importance of South-
South collaboration
to fight towards
the elimination of
such diseases.
Dr Harish Iyer, Senior
Scientific Advisor,
BMGF, India, said, “We
are encouraged by the
contributions of Indian
companies in developing
high-quality, safe and
affordable life-saving
vaccines and drugs, that
not only prevent and
treat infectious diseases
in India but in the
world. The foundation
supports innovation and
technologies required
to develop new
vaccines and its
delivery to people in
greatest need. We
contributed funds
to the development
of MenAfriVac® by
the Serum Institute,
which reached
more than 262
million people in Sub-
Saharan Africa since
its launch in 2010, to
save many lives from
this deadly epidemic.”
emphasized that the
vaccine industry in India
had both the capability
and capacity of tackling
situations of great need.
David C. Kaslow,
PATH’s Vice President
for Essential Medicines
and Director of PATH’s
Center for Vaccine
Innovation and Access,
said MenAfriVac® was
developed in collaboration
with the SIIPL, WHO
and other partners
and has demonstrated
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