NAFDAC partners with University of Oxford in US$5 M Initiative to guard Nigeria’s vaccine supply

NIGERIA— Nigeria has joined a £3.7 million (US$5.0 million) international research consortium to strengthen vaccine quality surveillance and improve the detection of degraded, substandard and falsified vaccines before they reach patients.

Funded through the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme, the three-year initiative will develop and validate technologies that can rapidly identify compromised vaccines across the supply chain.

Global collaboration to improve vaccine safety

The University of Oxford, through its Medicine Quality Research Group, leads the project.

The consortium includes Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Obafemi Awolowo University, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the University of East London and the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Thailand.

The partnership will support Nigeria’s post-marketing vaccine surveillance system by evaluating innovative screening devices and expanding routine laboratory testing for vaccine lots.

It will also assess the health economics of different surveillance approaches to identify cost-effective options for monitoring vaccine quality.

NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye said the collaboration demonstrates the agency’s commitment to protecting public health through science, innovation and international partnerships.

According to Adeyeye, the research will strengthen Nigeria’s regulatory capacity while generating evidence to support the use of rapid screening technologies for verifying vaccine quality throughout the supply chain.

“This initiative aligns with NAFDAC’s commitment to protecting public health through science-driven regulation, innovation and international collaboration, while reinforcing public confidence in the safety, quality and effectiveness of vaccines,” she said.

Building on COVID-19 vaccine research

The project builds on the Vaccine Identity Evaluation (VIE) Consortium, which was established during the COVID-19 pandemic to address the global threat posed by falsified and degraded vaccines.

Previous research by the Oxford-led Medicine Quality Research Group adapted advanced scientific techniques to identify compromised vaccines within supply chains.

The new project will further refine these technologies and evaluate their performance under conditions that replicate routine vaccine distribution systems in Nigeria.

As part of the initiative, NAFDAC will implement vaccine quality surveillance activities, generate scientific evidence for regulatory decisions and contribute to efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s immunisation programme.

The agency’s involvement will also provide an opportunity to assess how new screening technologies can complement existing laboratory-based quality controls.

Researchers will examine their performance at different points in the vaccine supply chain, including settings where conventional testing may be difficult to deploy rapidly.

Assessing cost-effective surveillance methods

In addition to laboratory testing, the consortium will examine the economic value of different vaccine screening methods.

This analysis will help regulators determine which technologies could offer the most practical and sustainable options for wider deployment.

The research comes as regulators and health authorities face continuing concerns about counterfeit and substandard medical products and the potential impact of compromised vaccines on immunisation programmes.

The evidence generated through the project could inform vaccine quality assurance policies in Nigeria and provide lessons for other low- and middle-income countries seeking to strengthen regulatory surveillance and protect vaccine supply chains.