Three Malaria Vaccine Development Donors Join Forces
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Dear Colleagues,
Here is great news out today to announce a collaborative effort be-
tween the European Malaria Vaccine Initiative, USAID, and the Malaria
Vaccine Initiative to develop malaria vaccines for Africa and Asia.
Andrea Egan, PhD
Coordinator Multilateral Initiative on Malaria
Fogarty International Center
National Institutes of Health
31 Center Drive MSC 2220
Building 31, Room B2C39
Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Tel: +1-301-402-6680
Fax: +1-301-402-2056
mailto:egana@mail.nih.gov
http://mim.nih.gov
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THREE MALARIA VACCINE DEVELOPMENT DONORS JOIN FORCES
European Malaria Vaccine Initiative, USAID, and the Gates-Funded Ma-
laria Vaccine Initiative Announce Plans to Jointly Develop Malaria
Vaccines for Africa and Asia
WASHINGTON, D.C., USA and COPENHAGEN, DK (22 June 2001) - Three or-
ganizations of global reach have agreed to work together to speed the
development of malaria vaccines for Africa and Asia. The three-way
alliance is a critical development in international collaboration to
combat a disease that kills at least one child every thirty seconds.
"At many times in the last 15 years, malaria vaccine development has
been agonizingly slow," said Sir Gustav Nossal, Chair of the Strate-
gic Advisory Council that helps guide the Malaria Vaccine Initiative.
"This new network of international collaborations promises to change
that." The Malaria Vaccine Initiative at PATH (Program for Appropri-
ate Technology in Health, a US-based nonprofit organization), the
European Commission's European Malaria Vaccine Initiative (EMVI), and
the U.S. Agency for International Development's Malaria Vaccine De-
velopment Program (MVDP), announced today that they have joined
forces in facilitating malaria vaccine development - from testing and
manufacturing of vaccine candidates to ensuring their accessibility
and affordability in developing countries. Each organization pushes
forward the development of malaria vaccine candidates through part-
nerships with governments, universities, and biotechnology and phar-
maceutical companies. They have clinical evaluation of vaccines ongo-
ing and planned for Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States.
"Malaria is a deadly disease," said Soren Jepsen, M.D., Manager of
EMVI. "But because malaria is primarily a problem of developing coun-
tries, the commitment to combat it requires political will. These
agreements demonstrate that will on both sides of the Atlantic." "Ma-
laria creates large-scale misery in developing countries, and global
resources, although growing, are not sufficient to defeat it, making
concerted action imperative," said Regina Rabinovich, MD, Director of
the Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) at PATH. "Today's agreements ex-
tend our efforts to replace competition with strategic collaboration,
as established by our prior agreement with the U.S. National Insti-
tute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases." "Our three programs share
the same sense of mission," said Carter Diggs, M.D., Ph.D., Senior
Advisor of USAID's MVDP. "There have been many attempts over the
years at increased international collaboration. Today's partnership
ensures that promising vaccine candidates won't fall through the
cracks."
Around two million children, the majority in Africa, die every year
from malaria, and between 300 and 500 million people are infected
with the disease. Malaria is a parasitic infection transmitted
through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. The availability of an
effective malaria vaccine would greatly aid ongoing global efforts to
reduce the impact of malaria through drugs and other means. Each pro-
gram brings significant resources and experience to the fight against
malaria.
MVI has a flexible structure that can interact effectively with any
international partner, as well as considerable expertise. EMVI has
the support of the European Union, broad access to European science,
and a core partnership with The African Malaria Vaccine Testing Net-
work (AMVTN). USAID has a 35-year history of supporting malaria vac-
cine development through a global network of partners. "We're hoping
that today's agreement among three major players in the malaria vac-
cine field will spur even greater collaboration worldwide," said
Rabinovich. The three groups will strategize about how to break
through technical and financial barriers to vaccine development. They
will also share information useful for the design of clinical trials
and malaria vaccine development where permitted by confidentiality
agreements. "The malaria vaccine field stands on the brink of excit-
ing new developments," said Jepsen. "This partnership will speed us
toward the goal of an accessible malaria vaccine for the developing
world, as no single organization can manage the work of carrying
through a vaccine from development to testing."
The Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) established
the Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) through a $50 million award of
seed money by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. MVI at PATH seeks
to accelerate the development of promising malaria vaccines and en-
sure their availability for the developing world. For further infor-
mation about MVI and PATH, visit the Web sites at:
http://www.MalariaVaccine.org
and
http://www.path.org
The European Malaria Vaccine Initiative (EMVI) seeks to accelerate
development of malaria vaccines in Europe and developing countries;
contribute to the global effort to develop malaria vaccines; and en-
sure affordability and accessibility of malaria vaccines in develop-
ing countries. For more information about the EMVI, visit the Web
site at:
http://www.emvi.org
The USAID's Malaria Vaccine Development Program (MVDP) focuses on the
development of vaccines that will reduce malaria-associated mortality
and morbidity in developing countries, especially in children and
pregnant women. The MVDP works closely with academia, the commercial
sector, and other governmental agencies. For more information, visit
the Web Sites:
http://www.USAID.gov
and
http://www.usaid.gov/pop_health/cs/csmvdp.htm
For further information, contact:
Malaria Vaccine Initiative at PATH
Ellen Wilson or Joe Sutherland
Burness Communications
Tel: +1-301-652-1558
or Carol Hooks
PATH
Tel: +1-202-822-0033
European Malaria Vaccine Initiative
Soren Jepsen
Manager, EMVI
Tel:+45-32-683-188 or +45-20-720-462
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