The ILRI vaccine biosciences group aims to combat infectious livestock diseases through vaccine development for smallholder and pastoral farming systems, focusing on diseases like African swine fever and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. Utilizing advanced genomic and screening technologies, the initiative seeks to create a research platform to enhance vaccine efficacy and support African vaccine R&D pathways. Collaborating with various partners, ILVAC is dedicated to improving livestock productivity and sustaining vaccine and biotech sectors in Africa.

1. Vaccine
Biosciences
group
Plan3ng
the
orchard
–
an
ILRI
livestock
vaccine
ini3a3ve
(ILVAC)
Vish
Nene
The
problem
Infec1ous
livestock
diseases
feature
prominently
among
the
constraints
that
impede
livestock
agriculture.
Vaccines
can
reduce
the
high
rates
of
livestock
mortality
and
morbidity
and
are
the
most
effec1ve
inven1ons
for
disease
control,
especially
in
under-­‐resourced
agricultural
systems.
Vaccine-­‐based
solu3ons:
The
goal
of
ILRI’s
Vaccine
Biosciences
group
is
to
build
a
hub
of
research
excellence
dedicated
to
developing
vaccine-­‐based
solu1ons
to
reduce
disease
burdens
that
limit
livestock
produc1vity
in
smallholder
and
pastoral
farming
systems.
New
science,
new
opportuni3es:
Paradigm
shiEs
in
science,
underpinned
by
whole
genome
sequence
informa1on,
high
throughput
screening
methods
and
informa1cs;
now
enable
accelera1on
of
the
pace
of
research
by
adop1ng
a
holis1c
approach
to
vaccine,
diagnos1cs
and
therapeu1cs
development.
A
focused
approach:
ILVAC
with
several
partners
is
ini1ally
focusing
on
a
set
of
priority
diseases:
African
swine
fever
(ASF),
contagious
bovine
pleuropneumonia
(CBPP),
East
Coast
fever
(ECF),
peste
de
pe1ts
ruminants
(PPR)
and
RiE
Valley
fever
(RVF).
The
crea1on
of
a
vaccine
research
plaQorm,
where
generic
techniques
and
processes
will
be
implemented,
gives
us
the
ability
to
tackle
other
disease
constraints.
These
ac1vi1es
are
aligned
with
the
CGIAR
Research
Program
on
Livestock
and
Fish.
New
genera3on
vaccines,
a
risky
but
high-­‐reward
venture:
This
research
is
complex
in
nature
and
requires
long-­‐term
investments.
Several
lead
vaccine
molecules
for
CBPP,
ECF
and
RVF
have
been
iden1fied,
while
research
on
ASF
is
just
star1ng
and
PPR
work
is
under
discussion.
Achieving
impact:
To
meet
its
objec1ves
and
achieve
impact
in
the
discovery
to
delivery
pathway
ILVAC
works
with
the
BecA-­‐ILRI
Hub,
CGIAR
Research
Programs,
as
well
as
na1onal
and
regional
academic,
public,
private
and
development
sectors.
BASIC&RESEARCH&
&
Increase&our&knowledge&base&
&
“Knowledge&lays&the&founda>on&
for&science&&&innova>on”&
Vaccinology
capacity
ques1ons
• How
do
we
s3mulate
and
sustain
African
vaccine
R&D
pathways
to
achieve
impact?
• How
can
we
grow
a
biotech
and
vaccine
manufacturing
sector
in
Africa?
ilri-­‐vaccines@cgiar.org
ILVAC(–(a(vaccine(plaIorm(
Infec#ous(disease(
research:(basic(&(applied(
An#body(technologies(
Cellular(technologies(
Vaccine(technologies(
Genomic(technologies(
Diagnos#c(technologies(
Improved(vaccines(and(
diagnos#c(tools(
Contagious(bovine(
pleuropneumonia((
East(Coast(fever(
African(swine(fever((
Peste(des(pe##s(ruminants((
RiF(Valley(fever(
Consor#a(for(research(&(product(development(and(capacity(development(
Private(sector(
GALVmed(
CRPs(
NARS(
InterEgov(
agencies(
This
document
is
licensed
for
use
under
a
Crea3ve
Commons
A6ribu3on-­‐Noncommercial-­‐Share
Alike
3.0
Unported
License
September
2014
APPLIED&RESEARCH&
!
Develop&new&vaccines&&&diagnos>cs&
!
“Vaccines&are&highly&effec>ve&an>I
disease&interven>ons”&
! Study&hostIpathogen&interac>ons&
&
! Map&immune&responses&to&infec>on&
! Characterize&pathogen&virulence&
! Inves>gate&disease&epidemiology&
! Dissect&pathogen&biology&&&
diversity&
! Iden>fy&candidate&vaccine&and&
diagnos>c&molecules&
! Assess&candidate&vaccine&molecules&
! Assess&aMenuated&pathogens&
! ThermoIstabilize&vaccines&
! Develop&easy&to&use&diagnos>c&tools&
! Assess&different&vaccina>on&
systems&
! Facilitate&transla>on&of&research&
outputs&to&commercial&products&
Vish
Nene
v.nene@cgiar.org
●
P.O.
Box
30709-­‐00100
Nairobi,
Kenya
●
+254
20
422
3000
hdp://ilvac.net
●
www.ilri.org
September
2014