Potential new TB vaccines could save millions of lives – Expert

Sania Nishtar, head of the Gavi global vaccine alliance.

New tuberculosis vaccines expected to become available from 2029 could save over seven million lives over a decade, Gavi said Monday, but only if sufficient supply is ensured to the countries most in need.

New TB jabs in the pipeline have the potential of becoming the “next blockbuster immunisation tool”, said Sania Nishtar, head of the Gavi global vaccine alliance.

“However, they will only realise their potential if we are able to ensure sufficient, predictable and affordable supply for those countries with the highest disease burden,” she said in a statement.

Tuberculosis, or TB, remains the world’s leading infectious killer, claiming an estimated 1.23 million lives in 2024, according to the latest statistics available from the World Health Organisation.

The only vaccine currently licensed to protect against the disease is the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, which is over 100 years old.

Gavi stressed that while that vaccine is effective in protecting infants and young children against severe forms of the disease, its protection wanes.

The organisation voiced hope that a number of new vaccines being developed to prevent TB among adolescents and adults could fill the gap.

With the first of the new and promising candidate vaccines expected to secure regulatory approval by the end of the decade, a fresh Gavi analysis determined that they “could avert up to 7.3 million deaths from 2030 through 2050”.

• Sleeping with earbuds may trigger hearing loss, say ENT specialists
• How parents fuel diabetes, obesity in children with poor food choices
• Experts raise the alarm over silent signs of suicide

It also determined that the new vaccines held the potential of “unlocking up to $135 billion in economic benefits across low- and middle-income countries” by mid-century.

The Gavi analysis however also identified a number of risks that could slow the rollout once licenses are secured, including inadequate global and domestic financing, which could limit uptake in countries.

The demand uncertainty could in turn impact manufacturer capacity investments for late-stage candidates, creating supply risk, it warned.

Gavi, which brings together government and private donors to help developing countries acquire immunisations for key diseases at affordable prices, said it was working to ensure sufficient and affordable supply of the vaccines as soon as they are licensed.

It also said that it would push for widespread uptake through routine immunisation, and would “encourage a competitive and geographically diverse pipeline of novel TB vaccine candidates”.

“In order to help countries secure doses in the volumes they need, we are beginning to work with partners now to lay the groundwork for timely access when these vaccines become available,” Nishtar said.