In a deal inked in Cairo last week and backed by a $1.2bn investment from Gavi, the vaccine alliance, an end-to-end mRNA vaccine production platform is to be constructed in Africa, with plans to manufacture 100m doses a year.
A separate cross-continental partnership is expediting homegrown mRNA technology.
The landmark agreements aim to ensure vaccines are made by Africa, for Africa, and lay the groundwork for expanded local vaccine production and cross-continental collaboration, reports Health Policy Watch.
The first deal, signed in Cairo on the sidelines of the 2nd Vaccine & Other Health Products Manufacturing Forum, brings together EVA Pharma (France), Quantoom Biosciences (Belgium), and Unizima (Belgium) in a collaboration to establish Africa’s first “digital-to-biologics” end-to-end mRNA vaccine production platform.
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In a second agreement, Biogeneric Pharma (Egypt) and Afrigen (South Africa) will expand their collaboration on mRNA vaccine technology development, reinforcing cross-continental expertise in cutting-edge mRNA vaccine applications to new diseases that have a high burden in Africa.
“These agreements are proof that Africa is no longer just a buyer of vaccines – we are becoming producers,” said Dr Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC, at the conference.
The two deals agreements were announced alongside a broader effort to accelerate vaccine manufacturing in Africa, backed by a $1.2bn investment from Gavi.
The investments, recruited for Gavi’s newly formed African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), launched in June 2024, will be deployed over the next decade to incentivise African manufacturers to produce priority vaccines, like cholera and mRNA-based immunisations.
AVMA leverages Gavi’s role as one of the world’s largest purchaser of vaccines to promote local manufacturing on this continent.
Crucially, Gavi’s financial model ensures that licenses are held by African manufacturers, keeping intellectual property and production capacity on the continent.
At present, while demand for vaccines in Africa is valued at more than $1bn annually, Africa’s vaccine industry provides only around 0.1% of global supply.
The African Union has set a target for the continent to produce 60% of the vaccines it needs by 2040.
While some new investments in vaccine production were made on the wave of interest created by the Covid pandemic, such as the Afrigen mRNA research hub, launched with WHO support in 2022, and BioNTech’s modular mRNA vaccine facility, in Rwanda, African manufacturers still face a major challenge: securing stable demand.
Historically, global health agencies and African governments have sourced vaccines from long-established manufacturers in the Global North, leaving local producers struggling to compete.
To address this, officials at the Cairo summit called for a continent-wide pooled procurement mechanism, modelled after Egypt’s Unified Procurement Authority (UPA). Egypt’s system has successfully lowered costs and stabilised supply chains, and experts believe a similar approach at the AU level could ensure consistent demand for vaccines produced within Africa.
Another critical issue discussed was Africa’s regulatory capacity. While manufacturing is expanding, vaccines must meet strict international quality standards to be used across the continent and beyond.
In December 2024, Egypt achieved WHO’s Maturity Level 3 in terms of the quality of its national regulation of vaccines and medicines – following South Africa, which reached that milestone in 2022. The African Medicines Agency (AMA), still being established, is supposed to lead efforts to harmonise regulatory approvals across Africa, making it easier for locally made vaccines to reach wider markets.
The investments in African manufacturing come as Gavi seeks $9bn in new funding for 2026-2030 to sustain its work in Africa and beyond.
Momentum for local vaccine production will continue in June, with the continent’s first annual vaccine and biopharmaceutical manufacturing exhibition, Africa Excon, in Egypt. The event aims to highlight progress in local production and attract investment.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
No nod yet from South Africa for African Medicines Agency Treaty
$1bn plan for African vaccine manufacturing
SA Cabinet approves signing of African Medicines Agency Treaty
Development Bank investment to help Africa make its own medicines
How Africa can boost local health manufacturing, procurement