On June 1, 2026, a dozen organizations across continents announced a shared mission: to test a tuberculosis vaccine that could transform the lives of millions in Africa, from newborns in their first days to adolescents and adults fighting TB in their communities. The MTBVAC AVANTE consortium, backed by €18.2 million in funding from Global Health EDCTP3, the European joint undertaking for clinical trials in developing countries, represents a landmark four-year effort to advance MTBVAC, a promising TB vaccine candidate now in late-stage clinical development.
Tuberculosis remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, claiming over a million lives annually and disproportionately affecting people in sub-Saharan Africa. The existing BCG vaccine, used for nearly a century, offers limited protection against the form of TB that spreads most easily between people. MTBVAC offers a potential breakthrough—a rationally designed vaccine created using reverse genetics that could provide stronger, broader protection. But realizing that potential requires rigorous testing across diverse populations and settings, which is exactly what MTBVAC AVANTE will enable.
The consortium will support two major clinical trials running simultaneously in high-burden TB regions across sub-Saharan Africa. The Phase 2b IMAGINE trial, sponsored by IAVI, is evaluating whether MTBVAC can prevent pulmonary TB—the most transmissible form—in adolescents and adults living in endemic areas. Already underway at 15 clinical research centers spanning South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania, the IMAGINE trial is gathering crucial data on real-world effectiveness. Alongside it, the Phase 3 MTBVACN3 trial is investigating whether MTBVAC offers improved protection for newborns compared with the existing BCG vaccine, including for infants born to mothers with HIV, a particularly vulnerable population.
What sets MTBVAC AVANTE apart is its deliberate commitment to equitable access from the outset. IAVI, one of the world's leading vaccine research organizations, is taking on scientific stewardship as well as coordinating regulatory, access, and communications work—ensuring that if MTBVAC proves safe and effective, the pathway to making it available to those who need it most is already being built. "MTBVAC AVANTE represents a powerful example of how international collaborations can develop urgently needed health technologies with equitable access firmly at the center," said Kundai Chinyenze, IAVI's strategic partnerships and Africa regional director.
The €18.2 million investment from Global Health EDCTP3 reflects growing recognition that closing the TB vaccine gap is a global priority. A new vaccine that works better than BCG could prevent millions of cases in sub-Saharan Africa alone, where TB burden is highest and where the trials are taking place. The 12-partner consortium brings together scientific expertise, clinical research capacity, and regulatory knowledge across Europe and Africa—a model of the kind of sustained, collaborative development that breakthrough vaccines require.
The true foundation of this effort, though, rests with the trial participants themselves: the adolescents, adults, and newborns in South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania who are volunteering to test MTBVAC in their communities. Without their participation and trust, no consortium funding or partnership could advance. As that work continues over the next four years, MTBVAC AVANTE stands as a reminder that some of the world's most pressing health challenges are being tackled not by one institution alone, but by networks of committed partners working toward a shared goal.