Leading global pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is betting big on partnerships with India to accelerate vaccine development for diseases challenging the Global South, Jamila Louahed - VP, Head Global R&D for Therapeutic Vaccines and Belgium R&D site Head has said.
Louahed outlined in an interview that GSK’s innovations are being deployed to tackle diseases like malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis, and Shigella, which have been neglected due to limited commercial viability of a vaccine.
“We provide the research engine to de-risk the progression of early vaccine candidates towards clinical development,” Louahed said. “As soon as we get first human clinical data, we can transfer to a local partner manufacturer to then allow the scale-up and at a decreased cost of goods price to happen.”
India has a pivotal role in this strategy, said GSK, which has partnered with Bharat Biotech to develop and make the investigational Shigella vaccine.
Shigella infection or shigellosis is an illness that affects the intestine and is caused by shigella bacteria. The symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain and it spreads from person-to-person or by contaminated food and water.
“If you want to make it affordable, we cannot use our manufacturing here in Belgium. So, you have to have a partner,” Louahed said. GSK’s Rixensart site in Belgium is the largest vaccine Research and Development facility in the pharma MNC’s network.
Malaria Vaccine: A model for global collaboration
GSK’s malaria vaccine, developed over three decades, exemplifies its collaborative model. The program involved the US Army, Gates Foundation, PATH, and African research institutions.
“We vaccinated people and then allowed them to get bitten by infected mosquitoes,” Louahed said. “Rapidly after, we could monitor whether the people were protected by the vaccine or not. It was a very useful means to assess efficacy early on.”
The vaccine’s phased testing - from US challenge studies to African adults, adolescents, and eventually infants - required deep infrastructure and local partnerships.
“You don’t go directly and test the vaccine in children from Africa,” she said. “You go step by step, and for that, we needed the help of hospitals and academic researchers in Africa.”
Balancing science & investor expectations
Louahed acknowledged the pressure to maintain a robust pipeline amid investor scrutiny.
“It’s a constant review. Every year we review our prioritizations to be able to have this right balance on how much are we putting as an investment on our key priority versus the rest, which is more nice to have,” she said.
Partnerships are essential to this strategy. “We cannot do everything alone,” she added, “We liaise with the scientific community to see what is out there that can make us more successful.”
Cancer Vaccines: The next frontier
While therapeutic vaccines remain scientifically challenging, Louahed is optimistic about breakthroughs in cancer immunization.
“I started my journey in cancer vaccines 20 years ago and still there is no cancer vaccine on the market,” she said. “But scientifically, the concept remains very exciting.”
She pointed to the success of checkpoint inhibitors like anti-PD-1 as a turning point.
“If you restore your immune response by using a mechanism that the cancer cells are protecting themselves, you can then have an impact,” she said. “This is the first treatment that has a big impact on overall survival.”
GSK is exploring off-the-shelf cancer vaccines that could offer long-term protection, similar to childhood immunizations.
“If tomorrow you think about cancer vaccines, you could say, I’m protected for 10 to 20 years, while chemotherapy today gives you sometimes a few years and then you have a recurrence,” Louahed said.
Chronic disease vaccines and the microbiome puzzle
Louahed also talked about the shift toward vaccines for chronic diseases like shingles and hepatitis B.
“Your immune system is already shaped by the virus. You have to unlock it without causing a side effect,” she said. “The more we understand this interaction of the pathogen and immune response, the more we will be able to find solutions,” Louahed said, as she highlighted the role of microbiome in cancer susceptibility.
“The bacteria that had a protective effect in our gut has changed over time,” she said. “There is more and more publication that reflects this part of our body as part of our protection against cancer.”
The road ahead
GSK said its vaccine strategy is rooted in scientific rigor, global partnerships, and a commitment to equitable access. “One does not fit all,” Louahed said. “But there is a big effort to have access of vaccines to lower and middle-income countries.”
The company added that it to invest in innovation and collaboration, with its R&D engine working towards delivering the next generation of vaccines.
Disclaimer: This article is based on interactions during a media visit organized by GSK. The journalist was invited by the company.
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