Interview with Dr. Suresh Jadhav, President of DCVMN

Developing country manufacturers are an important part of the global supply of life-saving vaccines. Recently, the Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) launched its new website, www.dcvmn.com to increase awareness of the roles that their members are playing.

PneumoADIP recently had the opportunity to discuss with Dr. Suresh Jadhav, President of the DCVMN, on the evolving role of the network for pneumococcal vaccines production and supply. Dr. Suresh Jadhav is the Executive Director of the Serum Institute of India Ltd a primary supplier of life-saving vaccines in developing countries and a former member on the GAVI Board.

Kindly outline the formation of the DCVMN network and its role in addressing the vaccine production and supply issues confronting developing countries?

The Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network (DCVMN) was promoted by the WHO and came into existence in the year 2000, after the first meeting of its members in Bandung, Indonesia. DCVMN is a voluntary public health-driven alliance of vaccine manufacturers from developing countries that aim to provide a consistent and accessible supply of quality vaccines to developing countries. The network aims to address supply issues for existing vaccines and to build capacity for the introduction of new vaccines. Most of the issues confronting the network today revolve around access to technologies, creating predictable public markets, and access to funding.

To put into perspective, since vaccine introduction, the overall case rate for invasive pneumococcal disease remains 40% lower prior to vaccine introduction. In other words, there is evidence of replacement disease that is especially higher in < 2 year old Alaska Native population; however, routine vaccination has reduced invasive pneumococcal disease dramatically in the Alaska population.

Who are the principal partners involved in DCVMN?

DCVMN primarily consists of vaccine manufacturers in emerging countries, who are involved in primary healthcare programs across the world, and are the major suppliers of vaccines to UNICEF and PAHO. DCVMN is also supported by various academic, research and public health institutions that are actively involved with issues surrounding immunization, including WHO, USAID, NVI, PATH, IVI, NIH (OTT) and PneumoADIP. Currently many members from the DCVMN share partnerships with the international agencies in developing vaccines such as Meningococcal A Conjugate Vaccine, Rotavirus, Dengue, Malaria, Pneumococcal and Pandemic Influenza Vaccines.

What are the potential implications of the DCVMN network for Pneumococcal Vaccine production and supply?

The current licensed pneumococcal vaccines and the immediate pipeline vaccines will be supplied by pharmaceutical companies from developed countries. However, DCVMN members must play a role to make these vaccines widely available and affordable. As this is a complex vaccine, DCVMN can provide the forum in which emerging country vaccine manufacturers can work together to form partnerships among themselves and the supporting institutes, in order to develop and commercialize this vaccine. Fostering such partnerships would improve the sustainability of global public initiatives.

What are some of the short-term and long-term goals of DCVMN?

In the immediate future, DCVMN aims to expand its membership base and formalize teams to work as independent focus groups addressing technology and advocacy issues. Going forward we would like to evaluate collaborations with other organizations engaged in the advocacy of vaccines to further our goals. We are trying to engage other international agencies, such as GAVI, USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to get the financial support to strengthen the network and to increase its activities further.

Is there an intent for DCVMN expansion in the upcoming year? If so, in what aspects?

Yes, we are trying to rope in even the public sector units from developing countries to be a part of our network and also to jointly address various issues and difficulties that developing country manufacturers face, which can be taken up by the WHO for their intervention and support and also their advise. It is our foremost desire that all the members should be pre-qualified so as to increase their presence in supplying vaccines at affordable prices.

What is the primary purpose of the DCVMN website and who is the principal audience?

Our website has been launched and can be accessed at www.dcvmn.com. We hope it will be a platform for communication among various stakeholders. We plan to make the website more interactive in the coming year, with discussion groups facilitating the exchange of ideas related to vaccines (production, quality control, quality assurance and regulatory aspects), in support of our aim to make the network a strong advocacy platform.

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