RWANDA – German biotech company BioNTech has signed an agreement with the Rwandan government and Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal on the construction of the first mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa starting in mid-2022, to help the continent ease health inequalities compared to other world regions.
BioNTech, which developed the western world’s most widely used Covid-19 vaccines with partner Pfizer, will initially build a production line with 50 million doses annual capacity, which could be also used for Covid-19 vaccines, it said in a statement
However, the partners may decide to make mRNA vaccines against other diseases, such as malaria or tuberculosis, depending on future development progress and medical needs, a company spokesperson said.
This will be branched out into a wider production network making several hundreds of million mRNA vaccine doses per year with the goal to transfer ownership and know-how to partners on the continent, the biotech firm added.
“Our goal is to develop vaccines in the African Union and to establish sustainable vaccine production capabilities to jointly improve medical care in Africa,” said BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin.
The project marks a longer-term attempt to avoid a repeat of healthcare inequalities brought to the fore by the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at a media briefing in the Rwandan capital Kigali, European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said that the initial site would be built in Rwanda.
“Our goal is to develop vaccines in the African Union and to establish sustainable vaccine production capabilities to jointly improve medical care in Africa”
The announcements add details to plans – unveiled by BioNTech in August – to build malaria and tuberculosis vaccine production sites in Rwanda and Senegal, at the time narrowing its search for African locations.
BioNTech added that Rwanda and Senegal’s Institut Pasteur de Dakar would build facilities for final production steps and bottling in a process known as fill and finish, in parallel with BioNTechs construction activities.
The German group said it was also talks in with South Africa’s Biovac Institute about expansion of their current manufacturing partnership.
BioNTech and Pfizer in July 2021 struck a deal for Biovac to fill and finish over 100 million doses a year of their Covid-19 vaccine for Africa, based on imported active substance.
Also in July 2021, it said it would seek to develop a vaccine for the mosquito-borne illness malaria, eyeing production in Africa.
The announcement comes just days after The African Development Bank (AfDB) and its partners under the Africa Investment Forum said they are considering the establishment of a US$45 million vaccine plant in East Africa.
This will be part of a US$140 million investment being considered by the forum to boost vaccines and healthcare in West and East Africa.
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