Afrigen gears up to deliver Africa's first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine

Afrigen gears up to deliver Africa's first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine Afrigen Biologics expects a decision in mid-July on partners to produce Africa's first COVID-19 vaccine using the mRNA platform, the South African start-up's managing director said. Wendell Roelf Reuters

CAPE TOWN, June 24 (Reuters) - Afrigen Biologics expects a decision in mid-July on partners to produce Africa's first COVID-19 vaccine using the mRNA platform, the South African start-up's managing director said.

The World Health Organization picked Afrigen for a pilot to give poor and middle-income countries the know-how and licenses to make COVID-19 vaccines, in what South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called an historic step.

The "tech transfer hub" will make it possible for African companies to manufacture mRNA vaccines, the advanced technology used in Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) shots, in 9-12 months, the WHO said on Monday. read more

"The race is on to get manufacturing capacity in Africa to give us vaccine security," Afrigen's Petro Terblanche told Reuters on Wednesday during the first media visit to its new 130 million rand ($9 million) facility.

"The fastest route for us to that goal would be to go with one of the vaccines that already has market authorization ... However, there is place for other platforms particularly in the area of stability, so it is not impossible that we will look at two different platforms," Terblanche added.

Referring to the instability of mRNA vaccines, which require very cold storage, she said Afrigen could access technology to produce a "thermo-stable" mRNA vaccine that could be kept at temperatures of between 2-8 degrees Celsius ...