Pune’s Serum Institute ships malaria vaccine to African countries

Serum Institute of India ships R21/Matrix-M™ malaria vaccine to Africa, starting with Central African Republic. 163,800 doses allocated for CAR.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) on Monday shipped its first set of R21/Matrix-M™ malaria vaccine to Africa.

CEO of Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla and Ambassador of the United States of America to India, Eric Garcetti flag off the first consignment of R21-Matrix-M Malaria vaccine doses to Africa, in Pune on Monday. (Eric Garcetti X/ANI)

The initial shipment of the vaccine will be sent to the Central African Republic (CAR), followed by other African countries such as South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo in the next coming days, said officials.

In total, 1,63,800 doses of the vaccine have been specifically allocated for CAR region, out of which 43,200 doses were dispatched from Serum Institute of India’s Pune facility.

“The R21/Matrix-M™ malaria vaccine is for the African continent as the vaccine is against the parasite that is found in the African continent,” said, Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer of SII.

“In India, we will launch the dengue vaccine in two to three years. We are doing clinical trials for the dengue vaccine. After the clinical trials are over in about two to three years we can expect the vaccine for dengue in India,” he said.

Developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford and Novavax’s Matrix-M™ adjuvant, the R21//Matrix-M vaccine is the second malaria vaccine to be authorised for use in children in malaria-endemic regions.