Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) has announced its selection as a key international co-lead institution in a landmark £3.7 million global health grant funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and led by Oxford University’s Medicine Quality Research Group (MQRG).
The international consortium brings together leading scientists from Oxford University, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, OAU, NAFDAC, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and the Mahidol-Oxford Research Unit (MORU). The project is titled “Development and evaluation of innovative devices for detecting falsified and substandard vaccines in supply chains.”
Prof. B. A. Adeagbo of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry will serve as the Project Co-Lead, heading the Obafemi Awolowo University team.
Scope of Project Activities in Nigeria:
Post-Marketing Surveillance: Deployment and evaluation of novel handheld and point-of-use screening devices (such as Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy [SORS], MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, lateral flow rapid diagnostic tests [RDTs], and thermal degradation assays) across Nigeria’s vaccine distribution network.
Controlled Evaluation Vaccine Hub: Establishing a near-to-real-life simulation hub in Nigeria to evaluate device diagnostic accuracy, user runtime, and operator error rates among regulatory inspectors.
Compendial & Lot Release Testing: Integration with routine laboratory potency testing and quality control workflows.
Health Economics & Cost-Effectiveness Modelling: Performing decision-tree and Markov modelling to quantify the health-economic feasibility and scalability of screening technologies for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
This grant underscores OAU’s commitment to scientific excellence, regulatory science and innovation, and global health security.