Dakar, Oct 27 (BNA): Senegal and Rwanda signed an agreement with Germany’s BioNTech to build their first-to-finish factories to manufacture RNA vaccines in Africa.
BioNTech, which developed the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, said Tuesday that construction will begin in mid-2022. The Associated Press (AP) reported that it is working with the Pasteur Institute in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, and the Rwandan government.
“Modern facilities like this will save lives and change the rules of the game in Africa and could lead to millions of advanced vaccines being made for Africans by Africans in Africa,” said Machidiso Moeti, WHO. FAO Regional Director for Africa. “This is also critical to imparting knowledge and know-how, bringing in new jobs and skills and ultimately enhancing health security for Africa.”
Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, said its goal is to “develop vaccines in the African Union and establish sustainable vaccine production capabilities to jointly improve medical care in Africa.”
BioNTech had already agreed in August to work with Rwanda and Senegal to set up facilities in Africa capable of mass manufacturing mRNA-based vaccines, under license.
The new mRNA process uses the genetic code of the coronavirus protein and is believed to lead to a better immune response than conventional vaccines. Scientists hope that the technology, which is easier to scale compared to traditional vaccine methods, will eventually be used to make vaccines against other diseases, including malaria.
BioNTech said the facility in Africa will eventually produce about 50 million doses of the vaccine annually, with the potential to scale up.
BioNTech also said it was in discussions to expand its partnership with Cape Town-based South African vaccine manufacturer Biovac. Biovac will assemble the vaccine using ingredients supplied by BioNTech, a process called fill-and-finish. This production will begin in 2022 with the goal of reaching more than 100 million final doses annually.
The BioNTech announcement was criticized by Rohit Malpani, an independent public health consultant in Paris, who previously worked with Doctors Without Borders.
“It’s too little too late,” Malpani said. “Nothing should have prevented BioNTech from doing this a year ago when they were building factories in the US and Germany. The fact that they sat on their hands and allowed this vaccine apartheid to spread and leave millions of people without vaccines shows that we cannot trust these companies.”
Malpani pointed out that the agreement provides for the production of the vaccine under a license to BioNTech.
“This may lead to expanded production, but control of vaccines remains ultimately in the hands of BioNTech,” he said. By the time these vaccines arrive, it will be too late for millions of people. This does not guarantee that countries will have access to vaccines or that they will be able to respond better to epidemics in the future.”
In turn, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines in Cape Town set up a lab and brought together scientists to produce an mRNA vaccine that’s a replica of Moderna’s, using publicly available information. With the support of the World Health Organization, Afrigen plans to develop and produce a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine independent of Moderna or other major pharmaceutical companies.
In July, Senegal announced that the Pasteur Institute would operate a new manufacturing center for the production of vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines. The center has been estimated to cost $200 million and will be funded in part by funds from European and American governments and foundations.
These vaccine manufacturing centers in Africa will help reduce its dependence on imports, as the continent currently depends on imports for about 99 percent of its vaccine needs, according to the World Health Organization. Africa and its 1.3 billion people remain the least-vaccinated region in the world against COVID-19, with just over 5 percent immunized, according to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
MI