Bharat Biotech, GSK to slash malaria vaccine price to $5 per dose by 2028

Drugmakers Bharat Biotech and GSK will cut the price of their malaria vaccine to $5 per dose by 2028, more than halving its current cost, they said on Wednesday.

The vaccine, Mosquirix or RTS,S, was developed by GSK and the non-profit PATH, and was the first malaria vaccine to get approval from the World Health Organization in 2022.

GSK is working on a technology transfer to Bharat, and will continue to supply the adjuvant part of the vaccine to Bharat when the Indian drugmaker fully takes over production of the shot by 2028.

A phased reduction in price for the vaccine will begin immediately, GSK said in a statement with Bharat, reaching the target price of $5 by 2028. 

The price cut was "driven by process improvements, expanded production capacity, cost-effective manufacturing, and minimal profit margins," the statement read.

Malaria kills more than 500,000 people annually, mainly children aged five and under in sub-Saharan Africa, according to WHO estimates. Cases and deaths fell significantly between 2000 and 2015, but progress has since stalled and even reversed, with a particular jump in mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many experts have expressed hope that vaccines can help turn the tide in the fight against the mosquito-borne disease. But price has been an issue, particularly when compared to other tools to prevent malaria like bed nets.

GSK has previously said it was committed to supplying up to 18 million vaccine doses between 2023 and the end of this year. The company plans to supply 15 million doses annually from 2026-2028, according to a spokesperson.

Wednesday's announcement comes as Gavi - a global vaccine group that helps buy childhood vaccines in the world's poorest countries - holds an event in Brussels to raise funding for its work over the next five years, as governments pull back from international aid.

GSK and Bharat said the price reduction showed their commitment to Gavi, which has been funding some of the roll-out of the malaria vaccine. Twelve African countries are set to introduce the vaccine in their routine immunisation programmes by the end of this year with Gavi's support.

The other approved malaria vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, is priced at under $4 a dose.