SA could produce its own Covid-19 vaccine as early as the first quarter of 2022.
This follows the launch of a “vaccine hub” by the World Health Organisation on Monday.
The world body announced it would be working with its Covax partners and a SA consortium – comprising local pharmaceutical company Biovac, vaccine manufacturer Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of universities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – to establish its first Covid-19 mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub to scale up production and access to Covid-19 vaccines.
The hub is expected be producing the home-grown vaccines within nine to 12 months.
Speaking at a virtual event to announce the hub, President Cyril Ramaphosa described the launch as “historic and the right step in the right direction”.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the full extent of the vaccine gap between developed and developing economies and how that gap can severely undermine global health security. Today marks an important milestone towards the achievement of one of the critical objectives of the AU’s Agenda 2063 ... the Africa we want.
The ability to manufacture vaccines, medicines and other health-related commodities will help to put Africa on a path to self-determination
— President Cyril Ramaphosa
“The ability to manufacture vaccines, medicines and other health-related commodities will help to put Africa on a path to self-determination.
“Through this initiative and others, we will change the narrative of an Africa that is a centre of disease and poor development. We will create a narrative that celebrates our successes in reducing the burden of disease, advancing self-reliance and sustaining sustainable development. This will enhance our capacity to take responsibility for the health of our people ... the health of Africans,” Ramaphosa said.
Technology transfer hubs are training facilities where the technology is established at industrial scale and clinical development performed. Interested manufacturers from low- and middle-income countries can receive training and any necessary licences to the technology.
WHO and its partners will bring in the production know-how, quality control and necessary licences to a single entity to facilitate a broad and rapid technology transfer to multiple recipients.
The technology transfer hub will benefit from the Medicines Patent Pool (MPPs) experience of intellectual property (IP) management and issuing of IP licences. The pool is also helping WHO negotiate with technical partners and supporting in the governance of the hubs.
Speaking at the event, WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the setting up of the hub as “great news, particularly for Africa, which has the least access to vaccines”.
“Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of local production to address health emergencies, strengthen regional health security and expand sustainable access to health products,” he said.
The announcement also follows the recent visit to SA by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said his country was committed to supporting efforts in Africa to boost local manufacturing capacity of Covid-19 vaccines and other medical solutions.
“Today is a great day for Africa. It is also a great day for all those who work towards a more equitable access to health products. I am proud for Biovac and our SA partners to have been selected by WHO, as France has been supporting them for years.
“This initiative is the first of a long list to come, that we will keep supporting, with our partners, united in the belief that acting for global public goods is the fight of the century and that it cannot wait,” said Macron via a recorded message.
Ramaphosa said manufacturing vaccines locally would benefit not just SA but the continent – allowing it to plan for the entire value chain, from training a critical mass of young people, enhancing and maintaining our supply chain and ensuring the efficient use of medicines.
It will also address the inequity between the rich nations in the northern hemisphere vs Africa.
“As SA, we intend to pursue these objectives in close cooperation with other countries on the continent, enhancing regional trade and investing in science and innovation. Debates around improved access to medicines, diagnostics and vaccines have been ongoing for many years. But they have reached their high point now as we are dealing with Covid-19. They’ve reached a high point because there is inequity and inequality.
“Countries of the north with more developed economies now have even more than 50% of their citizens vaccinated and the countries in the economic developing world are still struggling.
“Those in the north are now having fewer and fewer hospitalisations, and we in the south are still struggling for access to vaccines. Other countries in the north have a huge surplus, and we’ve been saying vaccine nationalism must come to an end because this pandemic we are facing together all around the world, and it is not equitable and not fair that the lives of people in certain countries ... are worth much more than the lives of those in poorer countries. We need solidarity, equitable access,” Ramaphosa said.
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