The Pandemic Sciences Institute (PSI) and Institut Pasteur de Dakar will cooperate on developing vaccines and rapid diagnostics – as well as strengthening workforce in the vaccinology, clinical trials and biomanufacturing sectors.
Dakar (Senegal), February 13, 2025 – The Pandemic Sciences Institute (PSI), an interdisciplinary institute at the University of Oxford, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) to become a partner institution.
As a member of the Pasteur Network, IPD is a 100-year-old Senegalese institution dedicated to accelerating equitable access to healthcare. IPD is a leading public health and research institution actively engaged in pandemic preparedness, outbreak surveillance and response, and vaccine and diagnostics manufacturing. Through its Centre for Africa’s Resilience to Epidemics (CARE) program and its laboratories, IPD supports African countries in building resilient capacities for early detection and rapid response to health threats.
The new three-year partnership aims to advance public health and life science collaboration in West Africa by leveraging the complementary strengths of PSI and IPD.
Key project areas will include the development of vaccines and rapid diagnostics, as well as capacity building and workforce training in good manufacturing practices and vaccine development.
The collaboration is spearheaded by Professor Teresa Lambe OBE, Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford Vaccine Group and the Pandemic Sciences Institute. She will also lead efforts on vaccine development for pathogens that are regionally relevant to West Africa and have a significant impact on global health security.
The new partnership brings together scientists from across PSI and the wider University of Oxford, including PSI Director Professor Sir Peter Horby, who will oversee the collaborative development and evaluation of rapid diagnostics for outbreak pathogens. PSI Investigators Professor Catherine Green, Head of the Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility and Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, will lead on capacity building for clinical trials and clinical biomanufacturing.
Professor Teresa Lambe OBE, PSI Investigator and Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford Vaccine Group explained the collaboration’s goals: “This new partnership will build on IPD’s strong history to extend the organisation’s capacities in vaccine and therapeutic clinical trials for the benefit of West Africa and the continent.”
Dr Amadou Alpha Sall, virologist and CEO of Institut Pasteur de Dakar, said: “This collaboration marks a significant step forward in advancing public health and life sciences in West Africa. By partnering with the Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute, we are combining our expertise in vaccine development, diagnostics, outbreak response, and clinical trials, thereby building the capacity to develop sustainable solutions for global health challenges. Together, we are particularly focused on addressing pathogens that are regionally relevant to West Africa. This partnership not only strengthens our research and manufacturing capabilities but also reinforces our commitment to improving health outcomes both locally and globally.”
About the Pandemic Sciences Institute
The Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford is a research institute with a mission to discover, create and enable practical solutions to infectious disease threats worldwide. The Institute is hosted by the University’s Nuffield Department of Medicine. Visit our website https://www.psi.ox.ac.uk and follow us on LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/company/pandemic-sciences-institute and Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/psioxford.bsky.social.
About Institut Pasteur de Dakar
Created in 1924, Institut Pasteur de Dakar works to accelerate equitable, sustainable and affordable access to health in Africa. As a Senegalese not-for-profit foundation recognized as being of public utility, IPD provides communities with healthcare solutions and laboratory services, engages in cutting-edge biomedical research and innovation, manufactures vaccines and diagnostics essential to African populations, develops human capital, and engages in public health activities such as epidemic intelligence, outbreak response, and surveillance. Connect with us at https://institutpasteurdakar.sn and on X: @PasteurDakar and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/institut-pasteur-de-dakar/
### END ###
For further details, interview requests, or additional information, please contact:
- Ms Maambele Khosa,
CERI, Stellenbosch University,
Phone: +27 79 592 9174 or Email: maambele@sun.ac.za
- Ms Marie Vianey AFANGBEDJI
Institut Pasteur de Dakar,
Phone: +221 77 835 4643 or Email: communications-ipd@pasteur.sn
ENG
FR