Authored by: Omowamiwa Kolawole, Caroline B. Ncube, Jeremy de Beer
Abstract: During, and in the aftermath of, the global COVID-19 pandemic, there were strong calls for more equitable global vaccine access. Among the responses to these calls have been efforts to increase vaccine development and manufacturing capacity in developing-world settings. To this end, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has supported the establishment of an mRNA vaccine hub in South Africa, implemented by a consortium led by Cape Town biotechnology company Afrigen. This mRNA vaccine hub is mandated to develop mRNA vaccines, and to share intellectual property and technology required for their formulation with companies in selected low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The hub is also mandated to provide training that enables the technology recipients to develop and produce mRNA vaccines. In this briefing paper, which is based on a desktop scoping review of the Afrigen project, we explore the establishment of the hub and some of its key accomplishments and challenges since inception.
