New Delhi: The Serum Institute of India (SII) has shipped the first batch of its R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine to Africa.
The maiden consignment is headed for Central African Republic (CAR).
A total of 1,63,800 doses have been allocated for CAR, of which 43,200 doses were dispatched from SII’s Pune facility on Monday.
The flag-off ceremony was attended by US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, Dr Mehreen Datoo from University of Oxford, Silvia Taylor from Novavax, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla and other guests.
Subsequent deliveries have been planned for South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Developed in collaboration with University of Oxford and Novavax, the R21/Matrix-M vaccine is the second malaria vaccine authorised for use among children in malaria-endemic regions.
SII, which has produced 25 million doses of the vaccine so far, has the capacity to scale up to 100 million doses annually.
“The collaboration between the United States and India exemplifies the innovation and accessibility that our private sectors can achieve. The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine represents a major advancement in the fight against malaria, promising to save hundreds of thousands of lives globally,” said Garcetti.
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