London: A new high-quality malaria vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the University of Oxford was officially launched on Monday, with Cote d'Ivoire becoming the first country in West Africa to begin administering the R21/Matrix-M.

Malaria vaccine is quite effective

The vaccine, approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last year, was said to have undergone a rigorous regulatory process and clinical evaluation and was found to be highly effective and affordable. As a low-dose vaccine, it can be manufactured at speed and scale, seen as crucial to curbing the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said, "It is now finally possible to reduce the burden of malaria. Today's launch of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine roll-out is a milestone after years of incredible work with our partners at Oxford and Novavax." He added, “At Serum, we believe every person has the right to have access to affordable and essential disease prevention. That's why we have committed to produce 100 million doses of R21, which will save millions of lives and reduce the burden of this deadly disease for generations to come.”

Vaccine is available for less than $4

So far, the Serum Institute of India has manufactured 25 million doses with a capacity to develop 100 million doses annually. In keeping with its aim to deliver vaccines at a large scale and at a low cost, the Pune-based company said it is offering the vaccine at a price of less than US$4 per dose.

Professor Adrian Hill, Director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford, said: "The roll-out of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine marks the beginning of a new era in malaria control interventions, with a high efficacy vaccine now accessible at a modest cost and at a very large scale for many countries in greatest need. We hope that this vaccine can very soon be made available to all African countries that wish to access it."