A major step towards large scale vaccination against a major and often fatal bacterial disease of infants and children is the aim of a new international, University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led project.
Professor John Crump, Director of the Otago Global Health Institute, is leading study sites across Africa to prepare for potential phase 3 efficacy trials on vaccines against non-typhoidal Salmonella invasive disease (iNTS).
Professor John Crump
The project has just secured a NZ$13.2 million grant from global charitable foundation Wellcome for the work.
iNTS is a leading cause of bloodstream infection, severe febrile illness, and sepsis in infants and young children in sub-Saharan Africa – causing more than 76,000 deaths in 2023 – and a major potentially vaccine-preventable cause of child death.
“I have worked on the disease for at least 20 years, so I am very excited to be involved in this next big step towards the ultimate goal of prevention,” Professor Crump says.
Two vaccines for iNTS disease are in phase 2 development, but contemporary, site-specific information is needed to design and plan phase 3 trials, which is the final testing stage before a vaccine can be made publicly available.
“Our aim is to change that. We want to measure iNTS disease incidence and outcomes in infants and young children, using standardised methods across multiple sites, to directly inform the design and planning of phase 3 vaccine trials.
“We will also collect samples that will contribute to the development of seroepidemiologic tools that measure antibodies against the pathogens causing iNTS disease that will be key to eventual national vaccine introduction decisions.”
The project is a collaboration with the International Vaccine Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Center, and the University of Oxford. It will occur across multiple sites with the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Medical Research Council in Gambia; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana; Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kenya; and the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme in Malawi.
“Our vision is to generate the data that will inform and enable rigorous, equitably-led phase 3 iNTS vaccine efficacy trials in the infants and young children who need them, and to develop a network of African sites with the data, infrastructure, and expertise to deliver them,” Professor Crump says.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Distinguished Professor Greg Cook congratulates Professor Crump on the grant.
“John’s work has long had a significant impact on the global stage, and it is fantastic to see this continuing with such substantial funding. It highlights how the work being done at Otago stretches well beyond the shores of Aotearoa.”
The project began 1 September 2026 and will run for two and-a-half years. The award coincides with the planned move of the Otago Global Health Institute to the Wellcome Building at the University of Otago in December 2026, itself funded by a 1961 grant from the Wellcome Trust to Professor Sir Horace Smirk.
