PATH’s MenAfriVac wins Prix Galien Bridges Award for Public Sector Innovation

PATH is honored to announce that the Galien Foundation has awarded the 2025 Prix Galien Bridges Award for Public Sector Innovation to MenAfriVac—the groundbreaking conjugate vaccine developed through the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP), a partnership led by PATH and the World Health Organization (WHO).

This prestigious honor, often described as the “Nobel Prize for biopharmaceutical innovation,” recognizes scientific excellence that advances global health and extends access to lifesaving technologies.

“Receiving the Prix Galien Bridges Award is a powerful reminder of what is possible when innovation is grounded in equity and global collaboration. MenAfriVac not only changed the trajectory of meningitis A—it reshaped how the world thinks about vaccine development. This achievement inspires us as we work toward the next generation of tools, including more affordable multivalent meningitis vaccines, that will bring us even closer to a future free from epidemic meningitis.”

—Melanie Saville, MBBS, Chief Scientific Officer, PATH

MenAfriVac was created to answer a challenge that once seemed insurmountable: recurring, explosive group A meningococcal meningitis epidemics across Africa’s “meningitis belt.” Guided by the vision of African leaders and the urgent need for an affordable, field-ready vaccine, the MVP partnership engineered the first vaccine designed specifically for—and with—the countries of Africa.

Today, the results speak for themselves. Since 2010, more than 360 million people have been vaccinated—and wherever MenAfriVac has been introduced, group A meningitis has virtually disappeared.

This award celebrates that extraordinary impact, and the collaborative model that made it possible.

PATH extends deep gratitude to the many institutions whose leadership, technical expertise, and partnership were indispensable to this achievement:

Public-sector and multilateral leadership

• World Health Organization (WHO) – co-leader of MVP, regulator engagement, prequalification, and country introduction
• African Ministries of Health and national immunization programs – from defining the need to conducting clinical trials, leading mass campaigns, and incorporating MenAfriVac into routine immunization
• United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) – essential regulatory and conjugation technology support
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – technical support, laboratory expertise, and in-kind contributions

Manufacturing and biotechnology partners

• Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. (SIIPL) – primary manufacturer committed to supplying at a price set by African health ministers (<US$0.50 per dose)
• SynCo Bio Partners (Netherlands) – foundational bioprocess and fermentation technology; established seed banks; critical early manufacturing partner
• Wacker Biotech GmbH – current parent organization to SynCo Bio Partners

Research and clinical trial partners

• Clinical research centers and trial teams in Mali, The Gambia, Ghana, and India
• Community leaders, ethics boards, and tens of thousands of individuals who participated in trials

Funders whose support made development possible

• The Gates Foundation
• Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
• US Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
• In-kind contributions from NIH, CDC, and the FDA

This collective effort—spanning continents, sectors, and disciplines—demonstrates what becomes possible when innovation is driven not by commercial markets, but by public health need.

PATH extends its deepest appreciation to Dr. Marc LaForce, whose leadership as MVP Director was central to translating the vision of African leaders into a viable, transformative vaccine.

Dr. LaForce guided the scientific, regulatory, and partnership strategy with unwavering clarity, keeping equity and epidemic prevention at the center. His legacy lives on in every community now free from the threat of meningitis A.

MenAfriVac not only changed the trajectory of meningitis A—it also created a blueprint for public-interest–driven vaccine development. This model has directly informed the creation of MenFive, a multivalent vaccine developed by SIIPL and PATH that targets all five major epidemic-causing meningococcal serogroups.

We are deeply grateful to the Galien Foundation for this recognition and to every partner and community member who contributed to this milestone. Together, we have shown that when innovation is built on equity, collaboration, and shared purpose, we can change the course of disease—and reshape what the future of global health can be.