With a little help from the Gates Foundation, Biovac will boost Africa’s vaccine manufacturing capacity with its newly opened product development laboratory in Cape Town. “For millions of people across the continent, it brings the promise of faster, more reliable access to lifesaving vaccines — developed and produced in Africa, for Africa,” said Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman.
Biovac opened a new product development laboratory in Cape Town. Image supplied.
The new laboratory will allow Biovac to produce vaccines from the early stages of product development, to drug substance and drug product manufacturing, to the end product.
Locally driven solutions
This will allow it to respond to the continent’s high disease burden with locally driven solutions.
Biovac initially focused on distributing imported childhood vaccines in partnership with the Department of Health, in support of its Expanded Programme for Immunisation.
Biovac supplies vaccines to treat diseases like tuberculosis, tetanus, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae, and hepatitis B in South Africa.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, it struck a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech to produce vaccines for the African Union.
With this new lab, Biovac, South Africa, and the African continent can develop their own vaccines across multiple platforms and be better able to respond to future pandemics or outbreaks using advanced technology and state-of-the-art equipment.
The laboratory will allow multiple products to be developed simultaneously and foster innovation and intellectual property creation for vaccines targeting diseases prevalent in Africa.
The laboratory includes infrastructure for mRNA drug substance development, screening, evaluation, and manufacturing.
It houses a specialised suite to formulate nanoparticles that safely encapsulate and protect mRNA, along with dedicated areas for bacterial and cell culture, cell bank storage, and handling of sensitive medical materials.
The African Union Commission and Africa CDC committed in 2022 to ensuring that 60% of vaccines used on the continent are manufactured in Africa by 2040.
Currently, only about 1% are produced in Africa; a gap this facility seeks to help close.
Biovac CEO Morena Makhoana said, “The establishment of our new product development laboratory is a major milestone for Biovac and for African vaccines and vaccine innovation.
“It gives us the capability to develop and test next-generation vaccines using the most advanced technology available, ensuring that Africa is not left behind in responding to current and future vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Makhoana.
