£1 million award for BactiVac Network to continue supporting development of bacterial vaccines

Bacterial infections kill over 7 million people each year and the development of new and better vaccines will reduce this devastating burden of disease.

Computer generated image of a bacilli bacteria coloured blue

Vaccines could help to reduce the need for antibiotic treatments for bacterial diseases

BactiVac, the Bacterial Vaccines Network, has secured £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 7 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% of whom are from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), to advance the development of vaccine against bacterial pathogens of global importance. 

Professors Calman MacLennan and Adam Cunningham talk about how £1m of funding from Wellcome will help BactiVac develop new vaccines for bacterial infection

Transcript

We're delighted to announce the funding from Wellcome for phase two of the BactiVac Network.

Over the past five years, we've become the global voice for bacterial vaccinology and the role of bacterial vaccines against antimicrobial resistance.

During this time, we've brought together individuals from academia, industry, policymakers and funders into a network of now over 1400 members spread across 78 countries, 49% of those from low and middle income countries.

We’ve supported the delivery by our members of over 60 catalyst projects. We’ve delivered training to individuals and to small groups. We've hosted three Annual Network Meetings, the last one in Kenya last autumn, and we've increasingly become nationally and internationally the voice for bacterial vaccines.

The second phase of BactiVac is going to be as equally exciting as the first. With the support from Wellcome, we can now increase our focus on supporting our research community, whether that's in industry or academia or in other parts of the production pipeline across the globe. We already have members from across a third of the countries across the world, and this will help us more.

We will increase our focus on engaging with industry, on bringing in and enhancing representation and meaning into low and middle income countries, helping them deliver solutions for local problems. These are exciting times and we're glad and grateful to our membership and grateful to Wellcome for helping us.

The funding awarded by Wellcome will enhance the impact of the BactiVac Network over the next four years.

From the start, BactiVac has been a leading advocate for bacterial vaccinology, 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.

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.

Professor 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.”

we will .... continue to promote the development of bacterial vaccines and champion their importance in overcoming the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance

Professor Calman MacLennan

Professor Adam Cunningham, BactiVac Co-Director said:

“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.”

BactiVac have played a leading role in bringing together world experts from across academia, industry, and policy to advocate for bacterial vaccinology

Professor Gordon Dougan

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.

“BactiVac have played a leading role in bringing together world experts from across academia, industry, and policy to advocate for bacterial vaccinology, supporting projects to advance vaccines and facilitate opportunities for the transfer of vital knowledge and skills. We are proud to continue supporting the Network as they embark on scaling up their impact.”

Notes for editors

  • For more information, please contact Tony Moran, International Communications Manager, University of Birmingham on +44 (0)782 783 2312. For out-of-hours enquiries, please call +44 (0) 121 414 2772.
  • 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.

Countries in which BactiVac members are based:

  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • Curacao
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Qatar
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • UK
  • Uruguay
  • USA
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Portugal
  • The Netherlands
  • Algeria
  • Argentina
  • Bangladesh
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cameroon
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Congo
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Egypt
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Kenya
  • Kosovo
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia
  • Mali
  • Mauritius
  • Mexico
  • Nepal
  • Nicaragua
  • Nigeria
  • Pakistan
  • Senegal
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tanzania
  • Thailand
  • Togo
  • Turkey
  • Uganda
  • Ukraine
  • Vietnam
  • Zambia
  • Namibia
  • Benin
  • Cambodia
  • Zimbabwe
  • Gabon
  • Sudan