To help make affordable vaccines for Africa, Aspen Pharmacare has secured funding of $30m from the Gates Foundation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the company said on Monday.
In August, Aspen announced a deal with the Serum Institute of India to make and sell four Aspen-branded vaccines for Africa, to put to use its near-idle COVID-19 vaccine production lines in the country. It had been negotiating with the two organisations for grant funding, reports SowetanLIVE.
“The new funding from CEPI and the Gates Foundation will support a 10-year agreement between Aspen and the Serum Institute that aims to expand the supply and sourcing of affordable vaccines manufactured in Africa,” the company said.
Each of the two will contribute $15m.
The Serum Institute agreement provides for Aspen to make and distribute pneumococcal, rotavirus, polyvalent meningococcal and hexavalent vaccines commonly administered in Africa.
It gives Aspen certainty on volumes, which will eventually more than cover an expected fall in revenue from its COVID-19 vaccine contract with Johnson & Johnson, CEO Stephen Saad said in August.
This week, Aspen said the funding, apart from supporting the “technology transfer activities” due to start in 2023, would help sustain its regional vaccine-making capacity against future outbreaks.
SowetanLIVE article – Aspen gets R500m grant to make vaccines for Africa (Open access)
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