State-backed vaccine manufacturer Biovac expects to produce its first commercial batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in October, despite the growing uncertainty about demand for coronavirus shots.
Biovac signed an agreement with Pfizer in July 2021 to fill and finish up to 100-million doses a year for AU members, but with demand for Covid-19 jabs falling worldwide that target looks increasingly uncertain.
“The likelihood is it is going to be lower, we just don’t know how much,” said Biovac CEO Morena Makhoana in an interview with Business Day on Wednesday.
SA administered just over 43,280 Covid-19 vaccine doses in the week to September 4, compared to a peak of 1.49-million doses in the week to August 29 2021, according to government figures. Demand is waning too in other African countries, despite the continent’s relatively low coverage rate.
Biovac is not the only domestic player grappling with the implications of falling demand for shots. Aspen Pharmacare announced last week that it had signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India to fill and finish vaccines for childhood diseases, as it seeks to use capacity in its factory originally earmarked for bottling Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Demand for the J&J Covid-19 shot has been significantly lower than expected, and Aspen has yet to receive any orders for its own version of the jab, branded Aspenovax.
Makhoana declined to comment on whether any orders had yet been received for the jabs Biovac will bottle, saying Pfizer was handling the orders.
Biovac has invested about R300m to build its capacity for mRNA vaccine production, which includes construction of an ultra-cold “freezer-farm” at its Pinelands site to store the finished doses of Pfizer’s jab.
Makhoana said the mRNA technology underpinning Pfizer’s vaccine meant Biovac could easily switch to bottling newer formulations of Pfizer’s shot, including its Omicron-adapted and bivalent vaccines, should the need arise. The technology transfer would also enable Biovac to pivot to other mRNA vaccines, should the need arise.
“All the investments of the last 12 months, while relevant to Covid-19, will be long-lasting,” he said.
Demand for Covid-19 vaccines has decreased to such an extent that both government and the private sector have scaled back the number of sites they operate. As of September 6, SA had vaccinated 20.3-million adults, or about half the adult population, and barely one third of the total population of 60.6-million.
Earlier this year, Biovac signed a deal with a consortium of development finance institutions to raise $150m to fund the expansion of its facility, to produce up to 1-billion vaccine doses a year.
The agreement boosted SA’s plans to scale up its domestic vaccine production capacity, and reduce the risk of standing at the back of the line again in future health emergencies. Biovac already helps produce small volumes of routine childhood vaccines for Pfizer and Sanofi.
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