Bharat Biotech and GSK Cut Malaria Vaccine Price to Save More Lives in Africa

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and multinational pharmaceutical Corporation GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have reached an agreement to make the world-first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix (RTS,S), affordable and more readily available to citizens of malaria-prevalent countries, mainly sub- Saharan Africa. The companies have a plan to reduce the cost to less than 5 dollars a dose by 2028, which is more than twice as they charge now, as stated in a press release on June 25, 2025. This relocation has been financed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and it will save lives of millions of children by shielding them against the potentially fatal parasite infection that takes lives of more than 600,000 children every year.

The reduced cost of the vaccine is caused by more efficient processes, commensurate increase in production capacity, and affordable manufacturing, with the Bharat Biotech taking over the manufacture of the vaccine antigen by 2028 once through a GSK-to-Bharat Biotech technology transfer. The adjuvant element will still remain available at GSK. The plan is part of the funding priorities of Gavi which plans to use the vaccine in 12 African countries to launch by the end of 2025. Even pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have already demonstrated a 13 percent lowering in overall deaths, and a 22 percent decrease in severe instances of malaria in youngsters.

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Krishna Ella, Executive Chairman, Bharat Biotech said, it is a promise to give life-saving vaccines to children who are most at risk. Thomas Breuer stated that GSK is committed to sustainable global health equity as the Chief Global Health Officer. Coupled with seasonal malaria chemoprevention, the RTS,S vaccine also holds the power to cut malaria episodes by a third to 75 percent and complements bed nets and antimalarial therapies. As Bharat Biotech invests $200 million in expanding its facilities, the partnership will grow to produce 15 million doses a year by 2026, to provide a continuous supply of vaccines to the vulnerable groups.