Bridging the gap: the Pasteur Network's approach to equitable vaccine development and manufacturing.

Equitable access to vaccines remains a cornerstone of global health security, yet persistent gaps in regional manufacturing capacity continue to undermine timely and fair distribution. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the risks of highly concentrated production systems and underscored the need for locally anchored manufacturing models capable of responding rapidly to public health emergencies. The Pasteur Network (PN)-a global consortium of 32 public health and research institutes across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas-offers an operational example of decentralized vaccine manufacturing embedded in national public health systems linking regional manufacturing capacity with public health priorities. Here, we examine the contributions and challenges of members within the PN engaged in vaccine manufacturing. Twelve members currently produce more than 525 million doses annually, covering a broad range of human and veterinary vaccines. Embedded within national health systems, the PN members combine research, development, and partial or end-to-end manufacturing capacities, ensuring close alignment with national public health priorities. Several members within the PN also contribute to global initiatives, including the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) manufacturing network, reinforcing their role in global preparedness efforts. Despite these strengths, common barriers persist across the PN, including workforce retention challenges, limited sustainable core funding, supply chain vulnerabilities, fragmented regulatory pathways, and insufficient coordination. We argue that the PN illustrates a scalable, public-health-embedded manufacturing model that complements existing industrial and technology-transfer approaches and should inform future global financing and governance.