By Phephile Motau
BactiVac, the Bacterial Vaccines Network, has secured about E22.1 million (£1 million) of funding from Wellcome to accelerate the development of bacterial vaccines and combat the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Bacterial infections kill over seven million people each year and the development of new and better vaccines will reduce this devastating burden of disease.
The BactiVac Network, hosted at the University of Birmingham, was established in 2017 under the direction of Professors Calman MacLennan and Adam Cunningham.
With over 1 400 members from 78 countries, BactiVac brings together academia, industry, policymakers, and funders, 49 per cent of whom are from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), to advance the development of a vaccine against bacterial pathogens of global importance.
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The University of Birmingham in a press release said the funding awarded by Wellcome will enhance the impact of the BactiVac Network over the next four years.
The press release states that from the start, BactiVac has been a leading advocate for bacterial vaccinology and has enabled collaborations in vaccine development through research project funding, delivered key training for members, supported training exchanges and hosted Annual Network Meetings.
With a focus on LMICs, BactiVac also aims to address bottlenecks and capacity building among early career researchers in these countries.
We are delighted to announce £1 million funding awarded by @wellcometrust to accelerate the development of bacterial vaccines and combat the threat of antimicrobial resistance #AMR
— BactiVac Network (@BactiVac) February 21, 2023
➡️Read more: https://t.co/jX7YRNYsxj@unibirmingham @ImmunologyUoB @bIGIdeas_UoB @IMIBirmingham pic.twitter.com/tzjoq4IJVU
Being the key Network for advocating the acceleration of vaccines that target bacterial pathogens, the BactiVac Network will continue to build collaborations and networking between academic, policy and industry partners towards this goal.
Calman MacLennan, BactiVac Director, said “we’re delighted that Wellcome will be partnering with us for Phase 2 of BactiVac. With Wellcome’s support, we will be able to build on what has been achieved over the first five years of the Network, continue to promote the development of bacterial vaccines and champion their importance in overcoming the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance.”
Adam Cunningham, BactiVac Co-Director, commented: “We are grateful to Wellcome for their generous support and for sharing BactiVac’s vision that bacterial vaccines have a critical role to play in reducing bacterial infections and the threat of AMR. In this exciting new phase, BactiVac will continue to support its membership to develop new vaccines, particularly those that are relevant to LMICs.”
Professor Gordon Dougan, Director of Infectious Disease at Wellcome, said: “The scale of the challenge posed by deadly bacterial infections and antimicrobial resistance is clearer than ever before. Developing new bacterial vaccines will help prevent these infections, ease pressure on healthcare workers, protect our precious supply of antibiotics and save more lives.
The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 8 000 international students from over 150 countries.
