South African biopharmaceutical company Biovac has received an investment and advisory package from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support vaccine manufacturing and pandemic preparedness in Africa.
The $7m loan will help Biovac to continue manufacturing vaccines including those against human papillomavirus, meningococcal disease and cholera, and other paediatric vaccines.
The parties also entered into a partnership deal under which the IFC will offer project development assistance for Biovac’s plans to establish a multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town.
The new facility will aid Biovac in boosting manufacturing capacity from its present 150 million doses to 560 million vaccine doses per year.
The loan will also help the company develop domestic capacity for manufacturing standard bacterial-based vaccines and messenger RNA-based vaccines.
This approach will strengthen African vaccine value chains and reduce the dependence of the continent on imported vaccines.
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Biovac chief financial officer Craig Mitchell stated: “This collaboration epitomises the type of support needed on the continent, to ensure focus not only on fill-finish capabilities and capacities, but also critically to advance research and development, drug substance, and ultimately to enable end-to-end manufacturing in Africa.
“We look forward to expanding the partnership with IFC towards realising the establishment of a large-scale facility capable of producing multiple vaccines on different platforms.”
Biovac supplies almost 80% of routine paediatric vaccines in South Africa.
In 2022, the company partnered with IFC to finance the expansion of its vaccine production capacity and aid in manufacturing vaccines including for Covid-19.
IFC Southern Africa regional director Cláudia Conceição stated: “Africa produces only a small fraction of the vaccines it needs and IFC is supporting efforts to expand production on the continent, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“IFC’s investment in Biovac will not only contribute to the growth of Biovac’s vaccine manufacturing capacity but also play a crucial role in advancing the development of the vaccine industry on the continent.”
Cell & Gene Therapy coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology is supported by Cytiva.
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