PATH VACCINE SOLUTIONS

Causes: Disabilities, Eye Diseases, Blindness & Vision Impairments Research, Health

Mission: Our mission is to improve the health of people around the world by: * Advancing technologies. * Strengthening systems. * Encouraging healthy behaviors. We meet the complex health needs of an expanding world with this multipronged approach that moves solutions from innovation to impact: supporting new ideas through inception, development, and testing; paving the way for introduction in low-resource countries; and working with governments and communities to integrate and expand the most successful ideas.

Geographic areas served: Global

Programs: Pvs works to prevent death and disease caused by pneumonia, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, polio, and diarrhea among children around the world. We accelerate the development of safe, efficacious, and affordable vaccines in partnership with public and private groups. In 2014, pvs marked a significant milestone in our work to reduce childhood deaths due to diarrheal disease, which is the second-leading cause of death among children in the developing world. Our decade-long partnership with indian vaccine manufacturer bharat biotech to develop a vaccine against rotavirus, the leading cause of severe childhood diarrhea, led to the indian government's 2014 licensure of the vaccine and announcement of its inclusion in the national immunization program. Through the years, pvs played a significant role in this effort. Through a unique public-private partnership, we provided technical assistance that accelerated clinical development of this important vaccine. Our evaluation of vaccines to fight pneumonia, the leading cause of childhood deaths worldwide, advanced with the initiation of phase 1/2 trials in africa. In the gambia, we are evaluating a 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (pcv-10), manufactured by serum institute of india, ltd. The pcv-10 candidate is designed to be affordable and focuses on varieties of the pneumococcus bacterium that are prevalent in developing countries of africa. In kenya, we are studying a pneumococcal whole cell vaccine that has potential to protect children against several serotypes of pneumococcal disease. Also in 2014, pvs marked the successful completion of important clinical studies to evaluate and optimize influenza vaccine. Trials in bangladesh and senegal generated efficacy and additional safety data on the seasonal live, attenuated influenza vaccine among children as young as two years of age. This yielded important new insights into the protection of young, vulnerable children in developing countries. Additionally, a phase 1 study of the live, attenuated a/h2n2 influenza vaccine successfully concluded in 2014.