Developing a vaccine against Zika
BMJ 2016; 355 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i5923 (Published 10 November 2016) Cite this as: BMJ 2016;355:i5923
This article has a correction. Please see:
- Joachim Hombach, senior adviser1,
- Martin Friede, coordinator1,
- Vasee Moorphy, team leader1,
- Anthony Costello, director2,
- Marie Paule Kieny, assistant director general3
- 1Initiative for Vaccine Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
- 2Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
- 3Health Systems and Innovation, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
- Correspondence to: M P Kieny kienym{at}who.int
The race to develop a vaccine against Zika began in February 2016, when the unusual clustering of cases of microcephaly and other neurological disorders associated with Zika virus infection led to the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern. When the World Health Organization held its first consultation in March, 14 active vaccine projects had already been announced.1 Today, WHO’s pipeline tracker counts about 30 active projects, pursued by developers from endemic and non-endemic countries, private and public sector.2
Such a jump start in vaccine development is rare, and several candidates have already progressed to clinical development. This pace is facilitated by our collective experience in developing vaccines against flaviviruses, the availability of novel vaccine technologies that greatly facilitate manufacturing of vaccines appropriate for trials in humans, and generous funding from some governments to support both basic research and product development.
However, there is no guarantee that the pace we have seen in early development …