The group beta streptococcus vaccine candidate may be the first to prevent infection in newborns and infants primarily through maternal vaccination. Grants from the Gates Foundation will support efforts to ensure pregnant women in low-income countries have access to these vaccines.
September 28, 2022 – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced nearly $128 million in grants to support the fight against Group B Streptococcus (Group B Streptococcus) Development and dissemination of maternal vaccines for Streptococcus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus, two infections that are leading causes of neonatal and infant mortality in low-income countries.
There is currently no vaccine for either infection globally, and there are few treatments available in low-income countries. The related vaccine that Pfizer is developing will become a major breakthrough in the field of maternal immunity once it is successful and approved for marketing. The group B streptococcus vaccine candidate may be the first to prevent infection in newborns and infants primarily through maternal vaccination. Grants from the Gates Foundation will support efforts to ensure pregnant women in low-income countries have access to these vaccines.
Since 1990, global child deaths have declined by more than 60%, largely due to vaccination. However, more than 45% of under-5 deaths occur in the first four weeks of life, the vast majority in low- and middle-income countries.
Keith Klugman, director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Pneumonia Program, said: “Maternal immunity is the vaccination of pregnant women with protective antibodies against passed on to the fetus, an effective means of reducing neonatal and infant mortality, an area that has not received enough attention and funding to drive innovation over the past few decades, leaving many babies at risk of contracting preventable diseases We hope to help children in low-income countries have a better chance of survival by funding the pipeline of these novel maternal vaccines—including the two grants pledged this time.”
Vaccination during pregnancy has been shown to be safe and effective. For example, vaccines are 95% effective at preventing infant deaths from pertussis, and combined with other interventions, tetanus-related infant deaths can be reduced by 88%. Successful development and roll-out of vaccines against streptococcus beta and respiratory syncytial virus will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating preventable deaths in newborns and children under 5 years of age by 2030.
B Streptococcus infection is more common in infants before birth or in the first trimester, and respiratory syncytial virus is most infectious in infants under six months, because infants’ The immune system is not yet mature enough to fight off these deadly infections. Therefore, two vaccines currently in development will vaccinate pregnant women and pass protective antibodies from the mother to the fetus. Beta streptococcus and respiratory syncytial virus infections are particularly severe in low-income countries, where timely and effective treatment is difficult to obtain.
It is estimated that beta-strep is responsible for at least 90,000 newborn deaths and 46,000 stillbirths each year, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for more than half of the deaths. Respiratory syncytial virus kills at least 100,000 infants globally each year, 97% of which occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Shabir Madi, Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and Director of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Analysis Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Madhi, said: “As a researcher and pediatrician, I have witnessed the positive impact of maternal immunization in reducing infant mortality in low-income countries. Without such multisectoral collaboration, vaccine development cannot progress and cannot end. Status of newborn and infant deaths from preventable diseases in low- and middle-income countries.”
The Gates Foundation’s latest grant, $100 million, will support Pfizer’s production of a type b streptococcal vaccine, phase 3 clinical trials and subsequent WHO prequalification. The grant will also support the development of affordable multi-dose packages for the delivery of beta-strep vaccines to low-income countries through public procurement agencies such as Gavi. The foundation has previously provided $17 million in grants to support Pfizer’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials investigating whether protective antibodies can be passed from an immunized mother to an infant.
In the latest grant, $27.5 million will support Pfizer’s development of affordable multi-dose packaging for delivery of airways to low-income countries through public procurement agencies such as Gavi Syncytial virus vaccine candidates. Pfizer will also fund this work, which will include feasibility studies, clinical trial material production, and trials aimed at confirming the equivalence of multi-dose packaging for use in low-income countries with those used in high-income countries.
Both grants are awarded in accordance with the Gates Foundation’s principles of global accessibility. This principle is designed to ensure that the resulting knowledge is disseminated quickly and widely, and that any resulting product is available at affordable prices to the world’s poorest people.
Source: Medicine
Proofreading: Zang Hengjia
Editor in charge: Tian Dongliang
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