Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health (NVGH)

Creating affordable vaccines for neglected diseases

The Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health (NVGH) is a research institute established by Novartis in 2007 and dedicated to the translational research and development of vaccines. The NVGH focuses on diseases that are not receiving adequate attention, especially diseases that are particularly devastating to developing countries.

Novartis believes in the importance of a long-term commitment to reducing global disease burden and to improving the prosperity and health of populations in developing nations. With its not-for-profit mission, NVGH builds on the research and development expertise and assets within Novartis to help address the vast unmet medical need that exists for vaccines to prevent some of the developing world’s most prevalent diseases.

NVGH is located on the Novartis campus in Siena, Italy where it shares the world-class facilities and technologies that the company possesses at its vaccines research headquarters.

 

Investing in a persistently underfunded need

The world’s health leaders are rallying around humanitarian and corporate citizenship initiatives to create incentives to inoculate against the diseases that affect the world’s poorest communities. Despite these efforts, the Commission on Health Research for Development reports that less than 10% of investment in health research goes to diseases that affect 90% of the world (the “10/90 gap”).

Vaccines have saved billions of lives in the past century and are still the most cost-effective way of controlling the spread of infectious diseases. Without a comprehensive approach to address the gaps in funding, research and global immunization coverage, developing countries will continue to be plagued by some of the most devastating diseases and face the reintroduction of old diseases and the emergence of new infections.

 

Aiming to close the “translational gap”

Academia has traditionally focused on basic research, and subsequent technical product development of vaccines has been conducted by vaccine manufacturers. For diseases that afflict underdeveloped countries, the potential for reasonable commercial returns is usually risky, so few companies are willing to invest in these vaccine projects. This unfortunately leads to a situation where promising leads or antigens may remain in the laboratory, without being realized into potential vaccines. This is known as the “translational gap,” which NVGH aims to bridge.

 

Focusing initially on diarrheal diseases

With more than 4.5 billion cases per year (WHO 2002), diarrheal disease is ubiquitous around the globe. In areas where water and sanitation are compromised, dehydration caused by diarrhea can be particularly devastating. Of the estimated 1.8 million deaths due to diarrheal diseases, a vast majority occur in developing countries.

NVGH’s first project aims to develop a broad-range enteric vaccine for Salmonella infections (PDF 50KB).

 

Seeking success through partnerships

Novartis believes that R&D efforts in the area of neglected diseases can be strengthened through the establishment of partnerships with public and private organizations encompassing both the developing and industrialized worlds.

NVGH works in partnership with universities, research institutes and other public and private organizations to develop the scientific basis for vaccine development. NVGH will bridge an existing gap between the discovery of promising vaccine candidates, often in academia and research institutes, and the manufacturing and distribution of vaccines, by providing the means and expertise for pilot-scale vaccine production and human proof of concept studies. NVGH will collaborate with organizations such as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the WHO and UNICEF, and other nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations that are working hard to bring international attention to this important issue.

Through global cooperation we aim to bring much needed effective and affordable vaccines to the people who need them most.

Related articles and links

NVGH Fact Sheet
(English | 30 KB)

Fact Sheet: Salmonella infections
(50 KB)

Outlook: Neglected diseases
Nature 449, No. 7159, 157-182 (13 Sept 2007)

A place in the sun
Nature 446, 124 - 125 (07 Mar 2007)

The NVGH: a new initiative for developing vaccines for neglected diseases in developing countries
The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries (17 Mar 2008)

Neglected diseases get vaccine research boost
Nature News (27 Feb 2008)

Vaccine partnerships to tackle neglected diseases
Nature Reviews (April 2008)

 

Questions? Feel free to contact us at:

contact.nvgh@novartis.com

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