The World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub in South Africa will increase COVID-19 vaccine production and access in low- and middle-income countries.
This is according to WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Ghebreyesus, together with a delegation that included health minister Dr Joe Phaahla and Meryame Kitir, Belgium’s minister of development cooperation and urban policy, on Friday conducted an oversight visit of the mRNA transfer hub and other facilities playing a critical role in the response to COVID-19.
According to Ghebreyesus, mRNA vaccine technology is not only for COVID-19 but will be used for malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and others, adding it will be a game-changer.
“We expect this [COVID] vaccine to be more suited to the context in which it will be used, with fewer storage constraints and at a lower price.”
Announced last year, the mRNA hub is part of an initiative driven by the WHO, the Department of Science and Innovation, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, Biovac, the South African Medical Research Council, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Medicines Patent Pool.
The WHO describes the transfer hubs as training facilities, where the technology is established at industrial scale and clinical development performed. The organisation will complement this activity and assist other countries in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries to strengthen bio-manufacturing capacity as well as regulatory capacity.
mRNA vaccine technology has been used in shots for two of the COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer and Moderna. It is also regarded as easier to scale than other vaccine technologies.
For most of 2021, limited global vaccine supply led to huge disparities in COVID-19 vaccine access, leaving billions of people unprotected against serious disease and death from COVID-19.
According to Ghebreyesus, more than half of the world’s population is fully vaccinated; however, 84% of Africa’s population is yet to receive a single vaccine dose, to date.
Much of the inequity, explained the WHO director-general, has been driven by the fact that vaccine production is concentrated in a few, high-income countries.
The Medicines Patent Pool will manage the intellectual property and, where necessary, issue licences to manufacturers, he said. “Once a vaccine has been successfully developed, other manufacturers from around the world will be able to produce the vaccine for national and regional use.
“The pandemic has highlighted the need for increased local production of vaccines globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The WHO mRNA global hub is a major step in that direction, by sharing technology and building on the capacity and scientific expertise that already exists in South Africa,” Ghebreyesus added.
“We’re not out of the woods yet and we are likely to be hit by new COVID-19 variants and a fifth wave that coincides with our winter season, which would compound our flu and cold season. However, we can reduce the impact by ensuring most people are vaccinated, especially the most vulnerable groups,” said health minister Phaahla.
“The new hub is not just for South Africa; it provides a one-stop shop for low- and middle-income countries across the world to benefit from the technology transferred, along with the know-how, so they can also produce mRNA vaccines, which is critical if we are to end vaccine inequity.”
Last week, Afrigen gained international recognition following its announcement that it had developed its own version of an mRNA shot, based on the publicly available data on the composition of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which will be tested in the coming months.
“This virus shows how interconnected we all are and I am proud that Belgium – and other EU countries – are now collaborating to build vaccine capacity everywhere,” said Kitir. “Going forward, we need more sharing of licences, technology transfer and know-how so that in this pandemic, and future ones, we can rollout vaccines quickly and equitably to the whole global population.”
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, regional director of the WHO regional office for Africa, added: “The mRNA hubs provide an unprecedented opportunity for capacity development, putting Africa on the path to self-reliance. This initiative will enable the continent to better protect against outbreaks, control the COVID-19 pandemic and develop new vaccines, accelerating the elimination of deadly diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. We are opening the door to better health and wellbeing for our people.”
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