In a bid to strengthen global defences against Nipah virus, CEPI, the University of Oxford, and Serum Institute of India (SII) have joined forces to create the world’s largest investigational ready reserve of a Nipah virus vaccine candidate.

CEPI funding of up to USD 7.3 Million will support SII for process development and manufacturing of the University of Oxford’s ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine candidate. SII will manufacture doses for use in a Phase II clinical trial in a Nipah-affected country, and create an investigational reserve of up to 100,000 doses, which could be deployed under emergency use during a future Nipah virus outbreak, helping to generate critical data and potentially halt an epidemic in its tracks. SII will supply the Phase II doses—known as clinical trial material—to the University of Oxford, which is conducting the CEPI-funded clinical trials. These mid-stage trials are set to be the first Phase II trials for a Nipah virus vaccine candidate to take place anywhere in the world.

Nipah virus, belonging to the paramyxovirus family, kills up to 75 percent of people it infects. The majority of outbreaks have occurred in India and Bangladesh since it was first discovered in Malaysia in 1999, with Bangladesh experiencing outbreaks almost annually since 2001. Despite its lethality, there are currently no approved countermeasures to defend against it. CEPI is working to change that as the world’s largest funder of Nipah virus R&D, committing around USD 150 Million to its Nipah virus vaccine, biologics and enabling science programmes.

“By advancing clinical testing and manufacturing thousands of vaccine doses against one of the world’s deadliest viral pathogens, in a region where the virus persistently occurs, we’re creating a state of readiness against Nipah outbreaks. This means we can manufacture the vaccines needed to advance clinical testing, and the vaccine could also potentially be used in emergencies when there are future outbreaks, helping save lives and limit the devastation caused by Nipah virus,” said Dr Amadou Sall, Executive Director, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, CEPI.

The ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine is based on the same viral vector platform technology as the licensed Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. SII produced over two billion doses of ChAdOx-COVID-19 vaccine and is well placed to leverage its past experience and manufacturing capabilities to establish an investigational reserve of ChAdOx1 NipahB virus vaccine doses to be stored and maintained at its facilities in Pune.

Dr Umesh Shaligram, Executive Director, SII, said, “The collaboration with CEPI and the University of Oxford to develop and manufacture an investigational reserve of the ChAdOx-Nipah vaccine candidate marks a significant step forward in our pandemic preparedness efforts. Leveraging our proven manufacturing capabilities and past success with the ChAdOx platform, we are proud to help establish the world’s largest investigational reserve against Nipah virus—one of the deadliest pathogens known. Our aim is to ensure that life-saving doses reach those most in need, particularly across the Global South.”

This new project brings together two of CEPI’s existing collaborators to advance both vaccine development and manufacturing in support of the 100 Days Mission—CEPI’s goal of delivering vaccines within 100 days of identifying a new outbreak pathogen. In 2024, SII joined CEPI’s vaccine manufacturing facility network, which aims to expand pandemic preparedness aligned to the 100 Days Mission and support equitable access to outbreak vaccines, particularly in Global South countries. This complements CEPI’s strategic partnership with the University of Oxford—a USD 80 million initiative to advance prototype vaccines against high-risk viral families through the work of Oxford’s world-leading vaccine scientists. Together, these collaborations are driving forward both the development and manufacture of a Nipah vaccine, reinforcing readiness to respond swiftly to one of the world’s deadliest viral pathogens.

Professor Brian Angus, Professor, Medical Practice, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, and Chief Investigator of the trial at the Oxford Vaccine Group, said, “Developing a Nipah vaccine that can be tested and used in regions where Nipah outbreaks occur regularly is a vital step toward ensuring communities most at risk are protected. Built on the same ChAdOx platform that underpinned the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, this candidate has the potential to provide an urgently needed defence against a deadly virus, helping to prevent future epidemics and protecting global health equitably.”