Microarray patches (MAPs) have the potential to increase equitable vaccine coverage in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, MAP developers and vaccine manufacturers have identified a barrier to development of MAPs for global health applications: the need for guidance on which vaccine MAPs would be of value to LMIC immunization programs. To address this gap, the Vaccine Innovation Prioritisation Strategy (VIPS) Alliance conducted a prioritization process and identified 11 high-priority vaccines that could be delivered via MAPs in LMICs.
The VIPS Alliance first compiled a reference list of vaccine targets through desk research, then filtered these targets based on route of administration, market distribution, existing interest from a global/regional health organization, whether the vaccine would address a specific global health priority or stakeholder agenda, development status, and potential MAP use cases. To further down-select the list, an external advisory group was consulted and researchers evaluated the potential regulatory pathway, programmatic impact, and financial sustainability to define two priority levels.
From a reference list of 91 vaccine targets, 21 were identified with applicability to LMICs, which were further down-selected to a VIPS priority list of 11 vaccine targets grouped by priority level. Priority group 1 included vaccines against hepatitis B virus, measles-rubella/measles-mumps-rubella viruses, human papillomavirus, rabies virus, yellow fever, influenza virus (seasonal and pandemic), and SARS-CoV-2. Priority group 2 included vaccines against Group B streptococcus, Neisseria meningitidis A,C,W,Y,(X), Salmonella Typhi, and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
How can the findings be used?
These vaccine MAP priorities will inform the investment decisions of MAP developers, vaccine manufacturers, donors, and global health partners to better respond to country needs when designing their MAP portfolios. By providing a holistic assessment of the potential drivers for and key risks of developing specific vaccine MAPs, these findings have the potential to promote MAP development activities for vaccines that are priorities for LMICs.
The VIPS priority list could help these stakeholders determine which global health MAP applications to add to their own portfolios and/or advance further if their portfolio already includes some of these vaccine MAP applications. The methodological approach and the selection criteria used could also be leveraged by other stakeholders when they are making their own investment decisions and help them think critically about how to assess trade-offs relevant to the value proposition of vaccine MAPs. For instance, leveraging the background information collected and the definitions used for the selection criteria to inform their internal processes
Thumbnail image credit: PATH/Patrick McKern
Any organization or individual working in the field of immunization economics can submit findings, opportunities, calls to action, or other relevant work below to be shared with our community.