¶ Vaccine Innovation Prioritisation Strategy
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The Vaccine Innovation Prioritisation Strategy (VIPS) Alliance is a supranational collaborative initiative. It consists of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), UNICEF and the World Health Organization.[1]
¶ Activities
In May 2020, the VIPS Steering Committee selected and recommended three vaccine-related innovations to prioritize in order to increase uptake of vaccines. Microarray patches (MAPS) were identified as the highest priority (the other two were “heat-stable and controlled temperature chain qualified vaccines”, and barcodes on primary packaging).[2] During the second half of 2020 and into 2021, the VIPS Working Group published a five-year plan to develop these MAPS.
MAPS are small devices that “consist of an array of hundreds to thousands of micro-projections on a patch or backing. These micro-projections can be coated with, or are composed of, vaccine in a dry formulation.” After being applied to the skin, the vaccine payload is delivered into the dermis and/or epidermis of the skin, which are rich in antigen-presenting cells. The two main types of MAPS being developed are solid-coated and dissolving.
A number of organizations are funding the development of MAPS including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Developing companies include Micron Biomedic, the University of Connecticut, Vaxess, Vaxxas and Verndari.
VIPS estimates early pilot programs for MAPS will begin no earlier than 2026.
¶ Personnel
VIPS is led by a steering committee.[3]
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Alejandro Cravioto | National Autonomous University of Mexico | Professor; SAGE Chair |
| David Robinson | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Deputy Director of Vaccine Development and Surveillance, Chemistry Manufacturing and Controls |
| Christopher Morgan | Jhpiego and Burnet Institute | Senior Technical Advisor (Immunization) and Honorary Senior Principal Research Fellow |
| David Kaslow | Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) | Vice president, Essential Medicines |
| Jean-Pierre Amorij | UNICEF Supply Division | Vaccine Technology Specialist |
| Jerome Kim | International Vaccine Institute (IVI) | Director General |
| Jon Abramson | Wake Forest School of Medicine | Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases |
| Kelly Moore | Vanderbilt University School of Medicine | Adjunct Associate Professor of Health Policy |
| Mark Jit | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | Professor, Vaccine Epidemiology |
| Mark Papania | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Global Immunization Division | Medical Epidemiologist |
| Michael Free | Independent | Independent Consultant; Senior Advisor Emeritus, PATH |
| Nora Dellepiane | QRB Consultants Sàrl | Independent consultant |
| Ramanan Laxminarayan | Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) | Director |
| Ruth Karron | Johns Hopkins University | Professor, International Health |
| Samir Sodha | World Health Organization | Routine Immunization Officer |
| Shelley Deeks | Public Health Ontario | Chief Health Protection Officer |
¶ External links
The Vaccine Innovation Prioritisation Strategy. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Retrieved June 6, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.06.06-012610/https://www.gavi.org/our-alliance/market-shaping/vaccine-innovation-prioritisation-strategy ↩︎
Vaccine Innovation Prioritisation Strategy (VIPS). (2021). Vaccine microarray patches (MAPs): public summary of the VIPS Alliance Action Plan (p. 2). Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. https://web.archive.org/web/20220806221838/https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/about/market-shaping/VIPS-Alliance-Action-Plan-for-MAPS_Public-Summary.pdf ↩︎
Vaccine Innovation Prioritisation Strategy. VIPS Steering Committee members. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.08.06-224555/https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/about/market-shaping/VIPS Steering Committee Members_FINAL.pdf ↩︎