Description
Since the eradication of smallpox in 1980, polio is close to being only the second infectious disease ever to be eradicated in humans. This journey towards eradication provides important lessons for other global health initiatives and the development of global public goods for health. Science, technology, and innovation (STI) in vaccine development have been critical for advancing polio eradication, especially through the recent development of the novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2). A unique expert Consortium, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has developed nOPV2 to prevent polio cases caused by circulating vaccine-derived polio virus. The Consortium functioned as a virtual pharmaceutical organization and nOPV2 was the first vaccine to gain WHO Emergency Use Listing (even before COVID-19). The application of cutting-edge science was critical to its success. The innovative Consortium approach built trusted relationships and united collaborative efforts working towards a common goal. The session will focus on the relevance of the lessons in STI and translate them into the potential to support the pathway towards malaria elimination.
The session aims to draw lessons and formulate recommendations from the science, technology, and innovation applied in developing a novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2) that is relevant for malaria elimination.
• What challenges have contributed to it taking more than 35 years to reach the brink of polio eradication?
• How have innovations in product development proved essential in overcoming the vaccine-related technical obstacles to polio eradication?
• What lessons can be drawn from the development of the novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2) that can help the achievement of malaria elimination?
This is a proposal for a full session bringing together the following proposed panelists / speakers:
Chairperson/Moderator:
Ms Simona Zipursky, Co-Chair of the Working Group on nOPV2, WHO, Geneva
Proposed Panelists / Presenters
• Dr Ananda S. Bandyopadhyay, Deputy Director, Polio, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle
• Sir Liam Donaldson, Chair, Independent Monitoring Board, GPEI
• Prof Dr David Heymann, Professor, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Distinquished Fellow, Center on Universal Health, Chatham House, London
• Ms Sylvie Fonteilles-Drabek, Executive Vice-President/Acting CEO, Medicines for Malaria Venture
• Dr Aidan O'Leary, Director, Director, Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Geneva
• Dr John Reeder, Director, TDR, WHO
• Dr Matiana González-Silva, Coordinator, Malaria Elimination Initiative, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (IS Global), Barcelona, Spain
The session will conclude with recommendations that will be published either in a scientific journal or through another form that is relevant to policy-makers.
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