Business EconomyPosted at: Oct 23 2026 2:06PM

Hyderabad, Oct. 23 (UNI): In a major breakthrough for global child health, Hyderabad-based Vaccine Maker Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) has finalised an equitable pricing agreement with UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to reduce the cost of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine by roughly 40 percent, down to €5.50 per dose.
The procurement deal, backed by upfront capital from the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), is scheduled to take effect in early 2027, the Bharat Biotech said in a release on Friday.
It will unlock approximately $50 million in savings for national immunization budgets through 2029—funding enough supply to deliver the complete, life-saving four-dose regimen to an additional one million children.
Originally developed by GSK alongside PATH and now manufactured at scale by Bharat Biotech under the brand name Mosqivac®, RTS,S/AS01 was the world’s first WHO-recommended malaria vaccine.
The new pricing structure reflects a combined $200 million investment by GSK and BBIL into technology transfers and high-throughput production infrastructure designed to industrialize supply and dismantle cost barriers.
"The Gavi–UNICEF deal is a far-reaching commitment to expand malaria vaccination," said Dr. Krishna Ella, Executive Chairman of Bharat Biotech International.
"As partners in global public health, we have invested significantly to expand supply, strengthen manufacturing, and support sustainable, affordable access. The opportunity now is to turn this progress into public health impact," Dr Krishna Ella said.
The pricing milestone arrives as international health agencies navigate historic contractions in foreign aid budgets while managing record-high demand.
Since general distribution began in 2024, UNICEF has delivered more than 74 million doses, embedding the vaccine into routine childhood immunization across 25 African nations that account for over 70 percent of global malaria cases.
Malaria continues to kill a child roughly every minute, claiming nearly half a million young lives annually. When administered in areas with high seasonal transmission, a four-dose course of RTS,S/AS01 reduces clinical cases by approximately 75 percent.
Sustained, lower-cost access remains foundational to Gavi's overarching push to immunize 50 million children against the disease by 2030.
"At a time when global health resources are under increasing pressure, partnership matters more than ever," said Dr. Harmony P. Garges, Chief Global Health Officer at GSK.
"This deal with Gavi–UNICEF further demonstrates how close collaboration across the global health landscape can deliver real impact for children most at risk," said Dr Harmony.
Established in 1996 on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Bharat Biotech emerged as the first anchor industry that catalysed the development of Genome Valley, now recognized as Asia’s largest life sciences cluster.
Over three decades, Bharat Biotech has grown from a single facility into a global biotechnology leader, operating world-class R&D, Bio-Safety Level 3 manufacturing, and vertically integrated cell and gene therapy facilities.
UNI KNR ARN