First mRNA vaccine hub ‘a game changer for Africa’

Africa’s first messenger RNA (mRNA) technology transfer hub for Covid vaccines will be a game changer for the continent, says department of science and technology’s deputy director-general for technology innovation Dr Mmboneni Muofhe.

“When outbreaks like Covid happen, the whole world rallies around developing new technologies and vaccines. But we don’t know that we will have the same response if there is an outbreak that is only ravaging the African continent. So if we don’t build our own capabilities, then we will have a problem.”

As Africa continues to lag behind in its vaccination numbers, the hub promises to build on vaccine development and manufacturing capabilities, putting the continent well on its way to self-sufficiency.

“One of the things we are planning to do at the hub is not just to look at what exists but it’s to say how can we build on what’s already existing to make better vaccines.

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“For example, some of the [current] vaccines demand storage [at] -700C.

“Now, our plan is not to manufacture a vaccine that requires that because we are in a different context. We want these vaccines to be able to be distributed to our rural areas and parts of the continent where they might be having challenges like ours,” Dr Muofhe said.

The department convened a multi-stakeholder forum, in collaboration with local and international partners, as Covid
cases continue to rise.

Themed “Strengthening Africa’s vaccine manufacturing capacity through the South African mRNA technology transfer hub”, Thursday’s forum was the first open dialogue on the establishment of this hub set to teach African manufacturers how to make mRNA vaccines, like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Other partners in the hub include the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Medicines Patent Pool, Afrigen Biologics, the Biovac Institute, universities and research institutes coordinated by the South African Medical Research Council and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Muofhe said beyond the pandemic, the hub will play a role in the continent’s fight against other diseases and illnesses.

“The good thing about this is that we are using the mRNA technology as a platform and from that platform, we also want to manufacture other vaccines.

“When we are done with Covid, then we are also going to say how do we then go into flu, how do we maybe go into tuberculosis, how do we maybe go into HIV and Aids and all other problematic diseases.

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“This technology then becomes some sort of scaffolding on the basis off which we build.”

In June, it was announced the WHO was working with SA to establish the continent’s first Covid mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub.

Muofhe said SA being chosen to house the hub is a testament to the world-class standards of the country’s scientists.

“We have already invested a lot in scientific research and development,” he said.

– SAnews.gov.za