PATH and partners receive award for novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) project
With more than a billion doses delivered so far, this next-generation oral polio vaccine is accelerating progress toward polio eradication.
Yesterday, at an event hosted by the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), Dr. John Konz, Global Head of Viral Diseases at PATH’s Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access, accepted the 2024 Innovating for Impact Partnership Award on behalf of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) project partnership. Presented by GHTC annually and selected by an independent panel of global health experts, the award recognizes breakthrough scientific research that results in lifesaving technologies for unmet global health challenges.
nOPV2 is a next-generation oral polio vaccine designed to help address the challenge of vaccine-derived polio outbreaks. While the original vaccine successfully prevented transmission and drove down the global polio burden, the weakened vaccine virus could, in rare cases, eventually revert to a disease-causing form. When this occurs in areas with low immunization coverage, it can result in circulating vaccine-derived outbreaks.
Building on decades of polio vaccine research, scientists designed novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to be more genetically stable: that is, less likely to revert to a disease-causing form. Since becoming the first vaccine to receive an Emergency Use Listing from WHO in 2020, more than a billion doses have been delivered and are successfully stopping the spread of circulating vaccine-derived polio. WHO prequalified nOPV2 in December 2023.
The nOPV2 development project exemplifies PATH’s broad technical expertise and approach to partnership. As convener of the consortium of partners, PATH ensured alignment at multiple levels, from strategic vision to day-to-day tasks, in a dynamic environment. This allowed consortium partners to deliver significant impact at an accelerated pace.
“It has been immensely rewarding for PATH to have played a role in advancing nOPV2 from a research candidate to a commercial product,” said Dr. Konz. “Generating real-world impact through our work is the reason we do what we do. Accelerating progress toward polio eradication goals with an improved vaccine has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
As global roll-out of nOPV2 continues, PATH and partners are also advancing nOPVs against additional types of polio.
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Watch the video: Novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2: 2024 Innovating for Impact Partnership Award honoree