APA-Pretoria (South Africa) Germany has granted South Africa some €20 million to finance the purchase of machinery required to produce mRNA vaccines over the next five years, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande has announced.
In his announcement on Friday, Nzimande said the grant would be used, among other things, to support the mRNA technology transfer hub that South Africa is hosting for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to build vaccine manufacturing capacity in low and middle-income countries – “although it will go beyond this in providing support.”
“The objective of the technology transfer hub is to establish or enhance sustainable mRNA vaccine manufacturing capacity in regions with no capacity or limited capacity,” Nzimande said.
This would introduce new technologies in low and middle-income countries, promote regional research and development, strengthen regional bio-manufacturing know-how and workforce development, and develop regulatory capabilities to support and accelerate regional approval and distribution of mRNA vaccines, he added.
The grant, disbursed through Germany’s KfW Development Bank, was exclusively for financing equipment for the development, production and certification of active pharmaceutical ingredients for vaccine production in the country, the minister said.
In response to the WHO decision made during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nzimande said the German government indicated its commitment to supporting vaccine production in South Africa.
The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) would be the project executing agency and would report to his ministry through a steering committee, he said.
SAMRC chief executive Glenda Gray said the council was delighted to be part of the programme which would provide critical support to establishing a vaccine manufacturing industry in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“In addition to complementing the activities of the mRNA hub programme, this partnership will seek to provide critical support in filling gaps in the pre-clinical research domain,” Gray said.
NM/APA