· A new plant to produce vaccines has been opened in Cape Town that will boost Africa’s manufacturing capacity.
· The facility owned by South African-American businessman Patrick Soon-Shiong proposes to support his local NantSA company to make COVID-19 shots.
· South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was present at the opening ceremony remarked that Africa should no longer be last in line to access vaccines against pandemics.
A new plant to produce vaccines has been opened in Cape Town that will boost Africa’s manufacturing capacity. The facility owned by South African-American businessman Patrick Soon-Shiong proposes to support his local NantSA company to make COVID-19 shots . South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was present at the opening said that Africa should no longer be last in line to access vaccines against pandemics.
Soon-Shiong, who is also a medical doctor, will transfer technology and materials for RNA, adjuvant vaccine platforms, and cell therapy from his California-based NantWorks to scientists in South Africa. The South African scientists will also work on vaccines targeting cancer, TB and HIV. He was confident that South Africa had the local human capital to build 21st-century medicine. Soon-Shiong’s another firm, ImmunityBio, is currently testing a novel coronavirus vaccine candidate in South Africa.
Soon-Shiong added that his American factories had enough bioreactors, to be sent to the new Cape Town plant to create state-of-the-art biological manufacturing. To ensure the availability of skilled workers, he has pledged 100 million rands ($6.5 million) for scholarships.
South Africa has been taking several initiatives to boost access to vaccines by upgrading existing production lines or developing new manufacturing hubs. Aspen Pharmacare already produces Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ COVID vaccine while Biovac, partly owned by the South African government, will produce Pfizer shots early this year. Cape Town also hosts the WHO’s COVID-19 manufacturing hub.
