Localizing pharmaceutical production around the world is a vitally important step and has specific importance for Africa. The continent is more vulnerable to the burden of disease and lags behind other continents in access to vaccines and general health care. Localized production can help Africa access vaccines and other medicines, such as antimalarials, more easily and affordably.
In Site Selection magazine, André Guedel, director and head of site selection and development services at KPMG Switzerland, explained that much of the production of prescription drugs for African markets is ultimately taking place in India and China.
Guedel said, “Most of those countries (in Africa) have decent medical schools or pharmaceutical schools. If you graduate from a pharmacy school in one of those countries, painting in a factory will suffice. It’s also a merit to have production there. . In Nigeria, for example, other people are leaving the country and there is a significant brain drain. If more corporations were established, they would say, “Let’s stay here. “Finding a professional workforce is the main challenge.
The lack of localized pharmaceutical production in Africa has influenced health and vaccine inequalities across the continent. At the beginning of 2022, the COVID-19 vaccination rate was less than 5% on average in 16 African countries (although this rate has now increased). thanks to an EU-funded task to develop COVID-19 vaccination policy on the continent). Meanwhile, preventable diseases such as malaria, pneumonia and typhoid fever continue to kill thousands of people.
In an article for the Bill Foundation
“It is no coincidence that countries with domestic capacity have obtained the maximum number of COVID-19 vaccines, while those that have not been forced to wait. Vaccine brands located in emerging countries (or “DCVM” for short) are also more receptive than giant ones to multinational companies focusing on overlooked diseases, especially when those diseases are still endemic in their country or region.
Fortunately, things are starting to reposition themselves in Africa. A number of projects have been launched that could potentially make Africa the next major destination for vaccine and biopharmaceutical production. And it turns out it’s already attracting the attention of foreign corporations as well.
One such initiative, supported through the World Health Organization (WHO), is the mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Center. Announced on 21 June 2021, the objective of the Technology Transfer Hub is to build the capacity of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). ) – adding countries in Africa – to produce mRNA vaccines, a center of excellence and training.
The center is designed to share generation and know-how with local producers; WHO and its partners provide education and money to develop the human capital needed for production know-how, quality control and product regulation, and assist, where appropriate, in obtaining compulsory licensing.
The concept is that by offering a diversity of products along the vaccine price chain, beneficiaries will be able to contribute to the global effort to build local vaccine production capacity and will be able to sign agreements with manufacturers or expand vaccines locally.
South Africa-based biotech company Afrigen Biologics is one of the partners in the initiative. The center is located in Afrigen, Cape Town, and has been tasked with manufacturing its own mRNA COVID-19 vaccine using publicly accessible images of Moderna’s vaccine. In a recent update, it was reported that the company had “progressed to production functions suitable for the production of curtains for Phase 1/2 clinical trials. “
If successful, this could be a world first; The vaccine candidate would be the first to be manufactured with a widely used vaccine without developer assistance and approval, and it would also be the first mRNA vaccine designed, developed, and produced on a laboratory scale in Africa.
“If this task proves that Africa can adopt the most advanced generation and produce state-of-the-art products, it will banish the concept that Africa cannot do so and replace the global mindset. . . it can be a substitute for the game. ” Charles Gore, chief executive of the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), told Reuters in Afrigen last year.
In addition, in another recent announcement, Afrigen partnered with Danish company Evaxion to expand a new mRNA vaccine for gonorrhea, for which there is currently no vaccine at all. Afrigen’s CEO, Petro Terblanche, said: “This innovative and exciting partnership enables the mRNA Generation Platform established in Afrigen with the WHO and MPP to expand the portfolio of products to be developed for the mRNA program. This is the sustainability of the production capacity created in LMIC’s partners.
Another vaccine production initiative was launched in June this year in Dakar, Senegal, where the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) and the Mastercard Foundation jointly introduced a partnership called MADIBA, which stands for Manufacturing in Africa for Immunization Against Diseases and Building Autonomy.
The multi-year allocation of $45 million includes the creation and advancement of a world-class workforce into vaccine manufacturing, and there will be an educational center of excellence for talented young people (i. e. , young women) to equip them with specialized skills in various areas. Research, manufacturing, production and distribution of vaccines.
The ultimate goal of the initiative is for graduates of the MADIBA educational program to contribute to the good fortune of other pharmaceutical production services across Africa. When they enter the labour market, the aim is for them to produce a multiplier effect, catalyzing transformation. of vaccine production capacities in Africa.
MADIBA will also contribute to the advancement of the Emerging Senegal Plan, which is a style of progression initiated by the Senegalese government aimed at achieving the goal of producing 50% of the country’s pharmaceutical products by 2035.
According to a United Nations (UN) article, industry experts say this innovative initiative represents a very important first step towards vaccine self-sufficiency in the region, as it can become a conceivable style for long-term vaccine production facilities across Africa.
In addition to those local initiatives, it appears that foreign biotech corporations are also beginning to set up shop in Africa to help boost localized pharmaceutical production on the continent. In a bid to unleash its commercial presence in Africa, BioNTech last year began construction of an mRNA laboratory. vaccine production facility in Rwanda.
To manage the facility, the company is committed to hiring staff in Africa and works intensively with local and foreign partners, as well as experts from research and academia. Currently, the company’s staff in Rwanda come from seven other African countries.
BioNTech also plans to set up factories in South Africa and Senegal, as part of what it describes as an effort to democratize the adoption of new drugs around the world.
In a message sent to Labiotech, BioNTech said: “Multiple responses are needed to achieve pharmaceutical equity, R
“In addition, we are committed to the production of mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies on the African continent once they have been effectively developed and approved. This effort is highly relevant, as low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by cancer cases and deaths, as well as some infectious diseases.
In another recent announcement, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical is collaborating with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to build a new pharmaceutical production facility and distribution center near Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to access high-quality medicines in Africa.
The IFC will provide two loans totaling $53. 49 million to Fosun Pharma’s subsidiaries, with the financing being used for the production plant and distribution center. The plan calls for the production site to be completed in 3 phases. It will produce antibacterial and antimalarial drugs, with an estimated production capacity of five billion tablets per year.
This is highly significant given that more than 95% of malaria cases worldwide (and 96% of deaths from the virus) occur in Africa, and children under the age of five account for about 80% of all malaria deaths in the region.
Sérgio Pimenta, Vice President of IFC Africa, said: “Strengthening Africa’s fitness infrastructure and capacity is undoubtedly critical for the continent’s long-term social and economic development, especially after COVID-19. IFC’s partnership with Fosun will strengthen Africa’s capacity to manufacture mission-critical medicines locally, helping patients more easily with affordable, high-quality medicines.
According to a new briefing paper from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and PATH, vaccine production in Africa is poised to expand dramatically, as the continent works to protect itself from the long-running disasters, pandemics, and epidemics. and that delays, such as those faced by African countries in receiving COVID-19 vaccines, do not happen again.
However, for low- and middle-income countries like those in Africa, building and sustaining a resilient production and healthcare ecosystem is an ambitious task that comes with many challenges.
For example, the paper notes that Africa’s vaccine production capacity is largely focused on forming/filling/finishing, and that a significant point of increased capacity is still planned. If all plans come to fruition, the capacity to train/fill/finish vaccines will more than double the projected vaccine demand for Africa by 2030. And, at this point of capacity, there is a threat that all production projects will be sustainable and commercially viable.
On the other hand, the capacity to produce antigens is very limited and is well below the capacity that would be needed to meet regional production targets.
The document also mentions that, to boost the use of its robust forming, filling and finishing capabilities, Africa currently relies heavily on the generational movements of foreign vaccine manufacturers. The challenge is that there is not enough generational movement for most existing and planned vaccine production capacities.
Finally, the studies presented in the paper conclude that some African vaccine brands already have strong monetary functions (the means to fund the facilities and operations needed to produce vaccines) but need to further expand their advertising functions, building a strategic business case for generating vaccines.
Judging by this document, there is still much to be done to make Africa a vaccine and biopharmaceutical production powerhouse. But, with all the new projects being launched, as well as the fact that the continent is starting to attract foreign players willing to manufacture vaccines locally, progress is being made, pointing to a promising long-term for pharmaceutical production in Africa.
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