mRNA Vaccine Production on the African Continent: Progress and Promise

Adel is a vaccine and biotechnology expert. He is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on Combination Vaccines, and has worked with the Egyptian Drug Authority, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Institute for Emerging Vaccines (IEV).

Setting the scene

The COVID-19 pandemic delivered a powerful reminder of global health vulnerabilities: vaccine manufacturing was heavily concentrated in a small number of high-income countries, limiting timely access for the broader international community. Africa, home to more than 1.4 billion people, was particularly affected, as a lack of domestic production capacity, in addition to other factors, left the continent reliant on external supplies.

According to Africa CDC, less than 1% of vaccines administered on the continent are produced locally. To address this gap, the WHO and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), a United Nations-backed public health organization, launched the mRNA Technology Transfer Hub, an initiative aimed at building regional manufacturing capacity in  low- and middle- income countries (LMICs).

The initiative adopted a “hub-and-spoke” model. A central “hub” would develop mRNA know-how, while multiple “spoke” manufacturers across LMICs would receive training, technical assistance, and access to the necessary technologies to enable local production. South Africa’s Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines was designated as the central hub. Fifteen manufacturers in LMICs, including Africa-based partners in Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia, were selected as spokes, tasked with building national and regional vaccine manufacturing capacity.

The broader ambition extends beyond responding to COVID-19, aiming to lay the foundation for sustainable, long-term vaccine self-sufficiency. Three years later, some basic questions arise: what are the barriers that continue to challenge the project’s goals? What measures are necessary to ensure long-term resilience and equity in vaccine production on the continent? And how can IP support these goals?

The promise of mRNA technology

mRNA vaccine technology works by using a small piece of genetic code called messenger RNA to teach the body’s cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response. Unlike traditional vaccines, which often rely on weakened viruses or proteins grown in labs, mRNA vaccines can be developed quickly once the genetic sequence of a virus is known. Their platform-based design means they can be easily adapted to target different diseases, making them a highly versatile tool for both pandemic response and long-standing health challenges like malaria, tuberculosis, and even cancer.

“You can go from laboratory to clinical trials in weeks, not years,” explains Adel. “It is ideal for pandemics as well as diseases that have long been neglected in Africa, like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV”.

This potential is especially significant given the continent’s growing vulnerability to emerging health threats. Between 2012 to 2022, Africa experienced a 63% increase in zoonotic outbreaks. Further, more than half of the public health events recorded in the WHO African region between 2019 and 2020 were zoonotic in origin, including diseases like Ebola, Lassa fever, and Rift Valley fever. For such threats, speed is essential to limit the health risk.