Bharat Biotech, GSK to cut malaria vaccine prices by half to below $5

Bharat Biotech International and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have vowed to cut the price of the world’s first malaria vaccine, RTS,S (known by its brand name Mosquirix), to below $5 per dose by 2028 for children in malaria-endemic countries.

The announcement, made on Tuesday, marks a major step toward improving equitable access to life-saving vaccines across Africa.

The move is part of the companies’ joint commitment to support the next funding cycle of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, known as Gavi 6.0, which runs from 2026 to 2030.

Gavi is a global health partnership that works to increase access to immunization in low-income countries, playing a key role in co-financing and deploying vaccines where market forces alone may fall short.

The phased price cut will begin immediately and be fully implemented by the end of the decade, aligning with GSK’s gradual transfer of manufacturing technology and supply responsibilities to Bharat Biotech.

The Hyderabad-based vaccine maker has invested over $200 million to scale up production capacity, enhance product development, and build out infrastructure required for large-scale supply.

The companies said the lower price point is being enabled by a combination of expanded manufacturing volumes, improved production efficiency, affordable input sourcing, and a low-margin pricing model focused on public health outcomes over profit.

The World Health Organization (WHO) first recommended the RTS,S vaccine in 2021 following pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.

Between 2019 and 2023, more than 2 million children received the vaccine in those three countries, resulting in a 13% drop in overall child mortality and a 22% reduction in hospital admissions for severe malaria, according to WHO estimates.

The RTS,S vaccine targets the deadliest form of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, and is administered in a four-dose regimen starting from five months of age.

When delivered alongside other preventive tools—such as insecticide-treated nets, indoor spraying, and antimalarial drugs—vaccine deployment has shown to prevent as much as 75% of malaria cases in children in highly seasonal transmission zones.

By the end of 2025, 12 African countries are expected to integrate the RTS,S vaccine into their routine immunization programs, supported by Gavi funding.

The rollout is seen as a critical pillar of the global fight against malaria, which continues to kill over 600,000 people annually—most of them children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.

“This pledge to Gavi 6.0 is more than a pricing announcement. It’s a commitment to global equity, innovation, and collaboration,” said Dr Krishna Ella, executive chairman of Bharat Biotech. “Through this historic announcement, we aim to change the course of malaria burden for millions of children and families.”

Thomas Breuer, chief global health officer at GSK, said the company’s price commitment reflects its broader mission to “change the trajectory of infectious diseases like malaria and make a difference in the lives of children and families across Africa.”

Sania Nishtar, chief executive of Gavi, said the new pricing commitment could help accelerate progress toward the goal of protecting 50 million more children in Africa from malaria by 2030. “Every dollar saved through affordable pricing means more vaccines can be delivered to those who need them most,” she said.

Bharat Biotech, best known globally for its covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, holds more than 145 patents and has supplied over nine billion doses of vaccines worldwide. The firm’s partnership with GSK represents one of the most significant public-private collaborations in global health in recent years.

Meanwhile, GSK is also advancing work on a next-generation malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, which targets a different stage of the malaria parasite’s life cycle and could offer even higher efficacy when ready.