A medical researcher conducts trials for vaccine. (PHOTO: VCG)

By Staff Reporters

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released a joint program on March 30, calling for proposals on advancing vaccine development and innovation and developing new regulatory science systems, tools, and methodologies to ensure vaccine quality, safety, and efficacy throughout its lifecycle.

The joint call aims to support research in four priority areas, including  policies and pathways to improve the effectiveness of vaccine regulation; vaccine regulatory system reform and process optimization; new regulatory science tools and approaches that evaluate vaccine efficacy, safety, and manufacturing quality; and active post-marketing pharmacovigilance.

"The partnership aims to develop research strategies and protocols, validate new models and methodologies, and draw on international experience in the whole lifecycle management of vaccine," said Xie Xincheng, vice president of the NSFC.

The whole vaccine lifecycle—from development, registration, and manufacturing to administration and post-marketing management—could take years and face numerous challenges. The Gates Foundation adopts an integrated approach that synergizes expertise in pharmacology, manufacturing, and regulatory affairs to expedite the development of life-saving vaccines. Streamlining the process will enable these vaccines to reach people in need around the world more quickly.  

"Vaccine regulation is a key component in building an effective global health innovation ecosystem and a prerequisite for vaccines to serve people in need at scale," said Zheng Zhijie, director of the China Country Office at the Gates Foundation. "The partnership will help explore ways to improve the regulatory science, which will in turn drive more vaccine product and platform innovation, and improve vaccine safety and efficacy."

Through this joint program, the NSFC and Gates Foundation encourage cross-disciplinary research teams to further strengthen vaccine development by devising potential solutions that could aid vaccine regulatory decision-making, and help provide policy recommendations. The program supports both qualitative and quantitative methods with a keen interest to improve regulatory effectiveness throughout the vaccine lifecycle.

The joint program will fund up to eight proposals on vaccine-related regulatory science. Each proposal, if selected, will be funded up to 750,000 RMB by the NSFC and 125,000 USD by the Gates Foundation. More information about the joint program can be found here.