- Scientists in Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a biotechnology company based in Cape Town, South Africa has announced that they have successfully made a copy of the Moderna Covid vaccine.
- Announcing the development, Petro Terblanche, the managing director of Afrigen said that the drug will have a different stability and more suitable for the temperatures of Africa.
Scientists in Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a biotechnology company based in Cape Town, South Africa has announced that they have successfully made a copy of the Moderna Covid vaccine. Announcing the development, Petro Terblanche, the managing director of Afrigen said that the drug will have a different stability and more suitable for the temperatures of Africa. It is hoped that the breakthrough development will lead to the end of vaccine scarcity in developing countries.
According to sources, Moderna was chosen as the company does not enforce patent restrictions during the pandemic. The company hopes to start clinical trials later this year. Cloning the vaccine, the company said, is in line with the WHO’s effort to make technology and treatments related to Covid accessible and available across the world.
