Pharma industry pledges to continue 20 year partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

The world’s leading biopharmaceutical and vaccines companies restate their commitment to supporting the Vaccine Alliance Gavi‘s mission to protect future generations from disease.

As founding partners in Gavi, the world’s leading biopharmaceutical and vaccines companies and IFPMA, the body representing the global biopharmaceutical industry, have worked over the past 20 years to extend the benefits of immunisation to some of the poorest countries in the world.

Industry’s partnership with Gavi has helped transform the health of the world’s children, with over 760 million of them more likely to survive and thrive into adulthood. From the near-eradication of polio, via the mass distribution of the pentavalent vaccine, which offers protection to children from five major infectious diseases, to new vaccines that protect against Ebola and cervical cancer – more children have been immunised with a wider range of vaccines than at any time in history.

Register & join 22,000+ industry professionals in reading the latest industry news & engaging content from Health Industry Hub, the ONLY one-stop-hub connecting Australia’s Pharma, MedTech and Biotech industry professionals.

Pharmaceutical companies, members of IFPMA, reaffirm their support for protecting future generations from disease, making five major commitments to support Gavi’s mission to reach 300 million more children with the full protection of the broadest vaccine portfolio in history:

1. Bring to life new vaccine solutions that save lives, protect health and prevent the spread of disease
2. Reach those most in need and underserved by innovating throughout the supply chain and ensuring the availability of high-quality vaccines to meet existing and growing demand
3. Support the strengthening, sustainability and resilience of national immunisation services
4. Prepare for public health emergencies to ensure the rapid sharing of information, the deployment of scientific expertise and the delivery of vaccines for use in outbreak responses
5. Partner to share capabilities, expertise and maximise the impact of life-saving vaccines

“We’ve been working with Gavi for 20 years, sharing our vaccine innovation expertise to stem the ravages of infectious diseases. NOW we are working at unprecedented levels of collaboration and speed, sparing no resources to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in record time. Thankfully, what is NOT unprecedented is the notion that collaborative efforts and partnerships can deliver and can transform lives. Gavi has shown how powerful public and private partnerships can be – ensuring nobody is left behind. We will succeed by working openly with others with critical roles to play, both in fighting COVID-19 and bringing vaccines to the next generation of children,” said Thomas Cueni, Director General of IFPMA.

“COVID-19 has shown us why vaccine research and development is so important and why global collaborations is needed to tackle both current and future diseases. With a world leading pharmaceutical industry, and a longstanding commitment to Gavi, the UK is well placed to support the international cooperation needed to protect the world from infectious diseases,” said Richard Torbett, Chief Executive, ABPI.

“GSK is a proud Gavi partner. Gavi has dramatically expanded the global reach of immunisation, saving millions of lives, helping companies like ours supply vaccines to low-income countries. We have worked together for 20 years delivering more than 740 million doses of vaccine to more than 50 countries in the last ten years, helping protect millions of children from rotavirus, pneumococcal disease and cervical cancer. Now, it is time to make sure Gavi secures more funding, for the next 5 years. Working together, we can help protect many more millions of lives and at GSK, we offer our full support,” said Roger Connor, President Global Vaccines GSK.

“Johnson & Johnson supports the critical role of Gavi in advancing the public health of millions of people around the world through vaccines. Vaccines are key to ending some of the world’s most challenging epidemics and pandemics, including HIV, Ebola and now, coronavirus,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson.

“With over a 100-year legacy in Vaccines, MSD stands with Gavi in their mission to reach 300 million more children through the broadest vaccine portfolio in the Alliance’s history. Along with our partners in the global health community, MSD is a committed partner in protecting lives and making a sustainable impact in countries where the burden of disease is the highest in the world,” said John H. Markels, President, MSD Vaccines.

“We pledge to play our part in protecting the health of the next generation. We commit to supporting Gavi’s mission to reach 300 million more children with the full protection of the broadest vaccine portfolio in history. We are fully engaged to prepare for the next polio end game step with our massive IPV industrial capacity and with our upcoming IPV-containing hexavalent paediatric vaccine, specifically designed to help GAVI countries and the low-middle income countries in accelerating IPV coverage uptake across the paediatric population during the new 2021-25 GAVI period,” said Thomas Triomphe, Executive Vice President, Sanofi Pasteur.

“Building on more than a decade of partnership with Gavi, helping to saves lives and reduce the burden of pneumococcal disease for a generation of children, we proudly stand with Gavi, IFPMA and all of the global health partners in the fight against infectious disease. Every fully vaccinated child helps to improves the lives and economic well-being of their entire community and their country”, said Susan Silbermann, President Emerging Markets, Pfizer.

In alignment with the Government’s mental health initiative the #SelfcareInHealthcare campaign has been launched to support Pharma, Biotech and MedTech industry professionals. The initiative is supported by Medicines Australia, AusBiotech, MTAA and ARCS Australia. Learn more.

Gavi: Impact of 20 years

• 760 million children who are more likely to survive and thrive into adulthood.
• Taking into account healthcare costs, lost wages and productivity due to illness, as well as the broader benefits of people living longer, healthier lives, there is a return of US$54 on every US$ 1 invested in immunisation in Gavi-supported countries.
• By preventing illness, death and long-term disability, Gavi-supported vaccines have helped generate more than US$150 billion in economic benefits between 2000 and 2017.
• Polio cases have fallen by over 99%.