King Saud University inks deal to develop vaccines in Saudi Arabia with Sabin PDP

The U.S.-based Sabin Vaccine Institute Product Development Partnership (Sabin PDP) has agreed to work with King Saud University to develop better vaccine research and development abilities in the Middle East. The agreement establishes a high-tech vaccine research institute in Saudi Arabia, which Sabin PDP will support by providing the necessary training and technical help to get the research center off the ground.

The goal is to develop vaccines development and production capabilities in the MENA region.

The research institute at King Saud University will focus on vaccines for established and emerging diseases and parasitic infections in the region.

As part of the initiative, Saudi scientists from various research and medical organizations will undergo vaccine development technical training Sabin PDP’s lab facility in Houston, Texas. That will build up the skilled workforce needed to develop and produce vaccines in Saudi Arabia and the wider region.

Joseph Westphal, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, commended the cooperative agreement between King Saud University and Sabin PDP.

“The U.S. and Saudi Arabia stand together to address so many of today’s most complex problems, and we have an especially long history of working side by side to develop health care solutions -- including vaccines for major and emerging neglected diseases and parasitic infections in the Middle East and North Africa,” Westphal said.