For the sixth consecutive year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has successfully concluded its flagship global training event – the annual Virtual current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) Training Marathon.
Conceptualised and launched in late 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic by the Local Production and Assistance (LPA) Unit under the leadership of Dr. Jicui Dong, the training was leveraged on virtual platforms to meet the huge global demand for cGMP training as countries implemented travel restrictions and physical distancing measures, and access to training stood at a standstill. The Virtual cGMP Training Marathon employed an innovative approach to capacity building – sessions were delivered twice a week over several weeks to minimize interruptions in business operations and enable participants to translate new knowledge into practice immediately.
In 2020, the response was overwhelming. Over 6,000 participants from industry, national regulatory authorities and other stakeholders registered, representing more than 90 countries worldwide. Since then, the Virtual cGMP Training Marathon is an annual global training event to meet this global demand. Participation has grown with each Training Marathon - over 1,000 participants from manufacturers (pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical), regulatory authorities and other stakeholders attended since 2020, to over 2,100 participants this year. More than 8,700 professionals from more than 80 countries across all WHO regions have been trained in total, with the largest proportion from the WHO African Region. Through this virtual approach, the Training Marathon has overcome geographical and financial barriers to participation, enabling equitable inclusion of professionals from low- and middle-income countries, and provided capacity building opportunities globally in a cost-efficient manner.
Dr Jicui Dong, Unit Head of the Product Policies, Access and Manufacturing Support (PAM) Unit (former Unit Head of the former LPA Unit), reflects:
“Over the past six years, the Virtual cGMP Training Marathon has become a global platform where professionals worldwide can build the knowledge and skills needed to ensure consistent product quality and regulatory compliance. We welcome new participants from around the world, alongside many who have joined us since the very beginning. The number and diversity of participants reflect a shared commitment globally to maintaining quality in manufacturing and protecting people’s health.
I am grateful that the Virtual cGMP Training Marathon is becoming a cornerstone of our collective efforts to build resilient manufacturing capacity worldwide. It shows what is possible when we invest in people, reinforcing our shared goal of enabling every region to sustainably produce and access the quality assured health products it needs.”
The Training Marathon has also evolved with each year, catering to the ever-changing global landscape. The inaugural Training Marathon laid the foundation with current WHO GMP guidelines and standards. In 2021, the curriculum focused on current WHO vaccine GMP as efforts to transfer technology and geo-diversify vaccine production ramped up globally. Each successive training marathon continued with progressively in-depth content and advanced GMP topics for quality production of vaccines as well as monoclonal antibodies, sterile products, and emerging platforms such as mRNA vaccines.
The LPA Unit has also developed learning resource kits for participants and the wider global community. These Q&A-style resources capture real questions and on-the-ground issues raised during the Virtual cGMP Training Marathons, with expert peer-reviewed answers. They serve as a practical tool for continuous learning, sharing best practices and identifying potential solutions to real-world GMP issues. Kits from the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Virtual cGMP Training Marathons are already available, with the 2024 and 2025 editions to be published soon.
The Virtual cGMP Training Marathon is part of WHO’s ongoing work to strengthen and geo-diversify sustainable and scalable manufacturing capacities.
The Virtual cGMP Training Marathon is a WHO flagship training program under one pillar of the WHO Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Initiative. launched in 2023. The other two pillars of the Initiative are:
- The Global Training Hub for Biomanufacturing (GTH-B) hosted by the Republic of Korea, and
- A network of Regional Training Centres (RTCs) for the 6 WHO regions.
Together, the three pillars complement each other to synergise and increase access to capacity building for a skilled biomanufacturing workforce as countries and regions look to build and scale up manufacturing capacities.
Participants consistently highlight the Training Marathon’s practical relevance, technical clarity, and immediate applicability to real-world manufacturing challenges.
“The sessions provided precise, up-to-date guidance that we could apply immediately within our production lines. It has strengthened our internal quality systems significantly.” - Quality Assurance Officer, National Vaccine Manufacturer, Kenya, African Region
“The Training Marathon fosters a unique community of practice. The open dialogue with WHO experts on cGMP implementation has transformed how we approach compliance and continuous improvement.” - Regulatory Affairs Specialist, National Regulatory Authority, Brazil, Region of the Americas
“As our country expands local production capacity, this training has been essential for harmonizing knowledge and bridging experience gaps across teams.” - Production Lead, Emerging Vaccine Manufacturer, Egypt, Eastern Mediterranean Region
“The Training Marathon has enabled our teams to align our manufacturing quality systems with international cGMP standards while also learning from peers in similar stages of production maturity. The continuity of this training over several years has been instrumental in supporting our progress toward regional self-reliance.” - Senior Specialist, National Regulatory Authority, Republic of Serbia, WHO European Region
“This programme allowed us to align our manufacturing processes with international standards, while also learning from peers facing similar challenges across regions.” - Head of Bioprocessing, Public Biotherapeutics Institute, India, South-East Asia Region
“The training has delivered practical and timely guidance that we were able to apply directly to our regulatory inspections and dossier evaluations. Learning alongside peers from other regions and engaging with WHO experts has strengthened our institutional capacity.” - Senior Regulatory Officer, National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), Malaysia (Name withheld), WHO Western Pacific Region
For further information and inquiries about the Unit’s activities and initiatives, please visit the WHO website or contact localproduction@who.int.