admin The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners are working with a South African consortium to establish its first Covid mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub.
Technology Transfer Hub Insights
Technology transfer hubs are training facilities where technology can be established at an industrial scale and clinical development performed. In April, WHO put out a global call for expression of interest (EOI) to establish Covid mRNA vaccine technology transfer hubs to scale up production and access to vaccines.
The hubs will be able to transfer comprehensive technology transfer packages and provide training to interested low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). Interested manufacturers in LMICs can receive training and any necessary licenses to the technology.
The Hub Partners
For this first hub, consortium partners Biovac and Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines will contribute complementary roles within the proposed collaboration. Afrigen, a biotechnology company, will act as a developer, and the biopharmaceutical company, Biovac, will be the manufacturer.
Universities involved in the consortium will provide academic support through mRNA know-how, and the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will contribute technical and regional support. WHO and its partners will bring their know-how, quality control, and necessary licenses into a single entity to facilitate broad and rapid technology transfer to multiple recipients.
The hub will also benefit from UN-backed organisation Medicine’s Patent Pool’s vast experience of intellectual property (IP) management and issuing IP licenses. Medicine’s Patent Pool (MPP) works to increase access to, and facilitate development of, life-saving medicines for LMICs. MPP is also assisting WHO in negotiating with technical partners, as well as supporting the governance of the hubs.
Plans Ahead
Over the coming weeks, the hub partners will negotiate details with the South African Government and public and private partners in the country and around the world. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, commented: “The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the full extent of the vaccine gap between developed and developing economies, and how that gap can severely undermine global health security. This landmark initiative is a major advance in the international effort to build vaccine development and manufacturing capacity that will put Africa on a path to self-determination.”
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