Biovac to raise $105M from financiers to increase vaccines production

South Africa’s bio-pharmaceutical firm, Biovac is set to raise $105 million from a consortium of nine development partners to expand its vaccines production capacity.

The financing is expected to help the firm expand its existing vaccine manufacturing plant capacity, and enable the production of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines.

The move will also support South Africa and the African continent’s vaccine production capabilities by reducing reliance on imports.

Biovac is part of a consortium of organizations that have partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners to establish the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub in South Africa.

The firm has also entered into an agreement with Pfizer in July 2021 with the goal to manufacture up to 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use exclusively in Africa.

“COVID-19 has proven that a more geographical spread of vaccine manufacturing is much needed globally, with the African continent having the least number of vaccine manufacturers. We are pleased that the consortium of funders is willing to work with Biovac to create sustainable African vaccine manufacturing, not only to respond to the current pandemic, but also to much needed routine vaccines and future pandemic vaccines as well,” said Craig Mitchell, Biovac Chief Finance Officer.

The consortium partners include the African Development Bank (AfDB), CDC Group – UK’s development finance institution which is soon to be renamed British International Investment, the German development finance institution DEG, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union Delegation to South Africa, International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), and the French development finance institution Proparco.

“We have developed a 2030 Pharmaceutical Action Plan/Continental Vision for Africa. We aim to increase the local production of pharmaceuticals to 70% by 2030, and of vaccines to 60% by 2040. Today’s announcement with Biovac is a strong testament to our pledge to make direct investments in manufacturers and provide leadership to support the development of the pharmaceutical industry on our continent. Africa must become self-sufficient. Health security is fundamental to economic security,” said Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB Group President.

The expansion in vaccine production is expected to bolster the global response to COVID-19 and advance long-term health security throughout the African continent.