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- Kenya’s effort to produce mRNA vaccines may be a game changer for addressing pandemic since the technology involved can be used for manufacturing other vaccines including for Malaria
Pharmaceutical giant Moderna is set to have its first mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa. Towards that, the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kenya’s government recently.
The company proposes to produce up to 500 million doses of vaccines a year for the continent. The company’s focus will be to manufacture drug substances. However, the facility can be scaled to include fill-and-finish work. Moderna is working on plans to fill doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Africa as early as 2023, subject to demand.
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Africa relies on imports for about 99% of its vaccine needs, as per the estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO). The continent is the least vaccinated place in the world. African leaders have been raising this point at various forums. In October last year, Senegal and Rwanda signed an agreement with BioNTech for the construction of its first start-to-finish factories to make mRNA vaccines in Africa.
The novel mRNA process uses genetic code to spike protein of the coronavirus. It is expected to trigger a better immune response than traditional vaccines. The technology, scientists believe, will give better results than traditional vaccine methods. They also feel that the same technology can be used to make vaccines against other diseases, including malaria.
