Cape Town-based Afrigen Biologics has signed an agreement with Belgian Univercells Group to develop a novel mRNA Covid-19 vaccine that is cheaper and easier to store than jabs now on the market.
If successful, this will be the first African-owned coronavirus vaccine, and it will boost the continent’s ambitions to reduce reliance on imports.
Many African countries were left at the back of the queue when coronavirus vaccines became available in late 2020, as countries with domestic manufacturing capacity prioritised their own populations. Rich countries snapped up supplies with prepurchase agreements, leaving nations such as SA and the international vaccine purchasing organisations Covax struggling to get stocks.
Afrigen leads a consortium backed by the World Health Organisation that is building mRNA vaccine capabilities at 15 sites in low and middle-income countries. It has made small quantities of an mRNA coronavirus vaccine using publicly available information used by Moderna to make its jab.
The partnership between Afrigen and Univercells paves the way for the development of a vaccine that does not require the ultracold chain requirements of the mRNA shots now on the market, said Afrigen MD Petro Terblanche.
“This second-generation vaccine gives us lower cost of goods, thermostability and additional freedom to operate from an intellectual property perspective,” she said.
The ultracold chain storage requirements of the mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech have pushed up costs and posed a logistical headache for many poorer nations. The partnership aims to develop a shot that is stable at between 4 and 8 °C, making it possible to store the vaccine in an ordinary refrigerator. This would make it easier to distribute in rural and remote locations, where vaccination rates are lowest.
New model
“The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that there is a pressing need to build African capabilities in vaccine development and manufacturing. Without the capacity to make their own vaccines, too many countries haven’t been able to access them,” said Terblanche. “This agreement is an important step towards ensuring that everyone, everywhere has access to life-saving vaccines and medicines.”
The collaboration also aims to develop a new manufacturing model for mRNA vaccines, that will include the entire value chain from ingredients to large-scale production.
“The beauty of the platform being built in Cape Town is we can [apply it] to future vaccine candidates,” she said. Such vaccines would be aimed at diseases affecting African countries. “We have to look strategically at which vaccines we choose. These are difficult decisions, and will be done in close consultation with the AU,” she said.
Univercells co-founder José Castillo said the present global model for vaccine manufacturing failed millions of people during the pandemic.
“We believe a new model is needed where manufacturers are not locked in to any individual product but have technology which enables them to manufacture the right vaccine or medicine at the right time. Our system, which was initially developed with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is built with this flexibility in mind,” he said.
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