Serum Institute to Manufacture M72 TB Vaccine Under Gates MRI Partnership

Exam-focused facts from the 19 July 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Gates Medical Research Institute (Gates MRI) and the Serum Institute of India (SII) have partnered to manufacture the M72/AS01E tuberculosis vaccine candidate.
The M72/AS01E vaccine candidate is currently undergoing a Phase 3 clinical trial involving 20,000 participants across five countries.
Serum Institute of India will invest over $100 million to prepare manufacturing capacity for the vaccine.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will supply the AS01E adjuvant for the vaccine.
In a Phase 2b trial, the M72/AS01E vaccine showed approximately 50% efficacy in preventing progression to active pulmonary tuberculosis in adults aged 18–50 without HIV.
The World Health Organization estimates that a vaccine with this efficacy could prevent 76 million new TB cases and save 8.5 million lives over 25 years.