New malaria vaccine co-developed by SII and Oxford rolls out in Africa

The Serum Institute of India (SII) and the University of Oxford officially rolled out a new high-efficacy malaria vaccine. The roll-out of R21/Matrix-M begins on Monday at Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa. 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.

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 $ 4 per dose.