In boost for Africa, Senegal aims to make Covid shots next year
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2022
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
In boost for Africa, Senegal aims to make Covid shots next year

Africa

Reuters
06 June, 2021, 02:15 pm
Last modified: 06 June, 2021, 03:10 pm

Related News

  • Monkeypox cases are on rise in Europe and US, here is why
  • It’s Africa’s century—for better or worse
  • Bangladeshi shot dead by assailants in Africa
  • Ukraine war fuels food crisis in distant Africa
  • Global scramble for metals thrusts Africa into mining spotlight

In boost for Africa, Senegal aims to make Covid shots next year

The collaboration highlights the opportunities created by a global push to channel money and technology towards production on a continent that makes only 1% of the vaccines it requires

Reuters
06 June, 2021, 02:15 pm
Last modified: 06 June, 2021, 03:10 pm
A health worker receives a dose of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in Dakar, Senegal. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra
A health worker receives a dose of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in Dakar, Senegal. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra

Senegal could begin producing Covid-19 vaccines next year under an agreement with Belgian biotech group Univercells aimed at boosting Africa's drug-manufacturing ambitions, a source involved in funding the project told Reuters.

As wealthy countries begin to reopen after securing vaccine supplies early, African nations are still struggling to acquire shots. On a continent of 1.3 billion, only about 7 million have been fully vaccinated.

The collaboration highlights the opportunities created by a global push to channel money and technology towards production on a continent that makes only 1% of the vaccines it requires.

Univercells announced the signing of a letter of intent for collaboration with the Institut Pasteur in Senegal's capital Dakar in April. The source shared details of the proposal, which were not made public.

Under the agreement, the Institut Pasteur would use vaccine production technology developed by Univercells to supply Covid-19 vaccine shots to countries across West Africa.

The institute would initially begin packaging and distributing vaccines produced by Univercells in Belgium early next year, the source involved in securing financing for the collaboration told Reuters.

Univercells would transfer its full production line to Senegal in the second half of 2022, the source said, adding that the company would train local staff so they could eventually run the operation.

Univercells chief investment officer Kate Antrobus, when asked about the timeframe for the project, confirmed that it could send vaccine doses to Senegal early next year.

She declined to comment on the exact date for a full vaccine production line in Senegal but of the timelines referenced she said: "I do not think they are unreasonable."

Timing depends on Univercells securing regulatory approval for a vaccine production site in Belgium. Antrobus said that was expected "any day now".

Institut Pasteur director Amadou Sall declined to comment on the timeline or size of the project but said the facility was working with donors to secure financial backing.

"There is a lot of political will, I am optimistic. But it is not about momentum, it is about creating a real opportunity," he said.

It is not clear yet what vaccine will be supplied to Senegal, but Antrobus said the site in Belgium would be able to manufacture a class of so-called viral vector Covid-19 vaccine such as those developed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), AstraZeneca (AZN.L), Russia's Sputnik V and China's Cansino.

"If Covid amazingly subsides over the next year....that same capacity could be used for other viruses," Antrobus said.

Univercells also has its own Covid-19 vaccine candidate, being developed with Germany's Leukocare and Italian firm ReiThera, which has completed Phase II trials. It is seeking financing to carry out Phase III, which the Italian government said it is ready to fund.

300 Million Doses Next Year

Senegal's Institut Pasteur is the only facility in Africa currently producing a vaccine - a yellow fever shot - that is pre-qualified by the World Health Organization, which requires manufacturers to meet strict international standards.

Pre-qualification allows facilities to supply to major buyers like the U.N. children's agency UNICEF.

Donors including the United States and the European Union are lining up to help fund an expansion at the institute to incorporate Covid-19 vaccines, the source involved in fundraising said.

A call by the institute for an initial $10 million in funding has been oversubscribed, the source said.

A UK government-funded cost analysis conducted for the Institut Pasteur, seen by the same source, said that the project would cost about $200 million, based on its aim to produce 300 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of next year.

Financing will depend on the institute having committed buyers. According to the cost analysis, the project would be commercially viable if it produced vaccines other than Covid-19, so it can keep functioning after the pandemic.

Strategic Plan

Africa's struggles to secure vaccine supplies exposed its vulnerability to health crises and pushed governments to find ways to boost medicine and vaccine production.

Those efforts are now gaining traction with wealthy countries.

The European Union said last month that it will invest at least 1 billion euros to build manufacturing hubs in Africa, with Senegal, South Africa, Rwanda, Morocco and Egypt among the leading candidates.

South Africa's Biovac Institute told Reuters it has been in touch with the French and German governments and pharmaceutical companies with an aim to produce 30 million Covid-19 vaccines annually.

South African company, Aspen Pharmacare, is already producing shots of the J&J vaccine locally.

The EU plan, in coordination with the African Union, aims to bolster drugs regulators in Africa, train Africans in the skills needed to expand the pharmaceuticals industry, and support businesses producing materials and components.

The plan will look at countries that "can move quickly, and which have the political capital to drag that forward," John Nkengasong, director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said.

Africa's $1.3 billion vaccine market could rise to as high as $5.4 billion by 2030 because of population growth and the availability of new vaccines, U.S.-based consultancy McKinsey and Company said in an April report.

There is still a long way to go, experts say.

Beyond the need for financing, governments and regulators need to make it easier for technology to be transferred to Africa, and to reduce risk through public-private partnerships.

"These are really mid to long-term goals, so you're looking at one to two years minimum," said Chema Triki of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. "It's not just about Covid. Africa needs to be ready for the next pandemic."

Coronavirus chronicle / World+Biz

Africa / Covid shots / boost

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Mahbub Ahmed. Illustration: TBS
    Budget should focus more on inflation control than on growth
  • Govt borrows 51% of target thru’ savings certificate sales in 9 months
    Govt borrows 51% of target thru’ savings certificate sales in 9 months
  • Protecting Hatirjheel would require striking a balance between the preservation of its natural beauty, fisheries and ease of communication. PHOTO: Mumit M
    Can the Hatirjheel water taxi service be stopped?

MOST VIEWED

  • Former South African President Jacob Zuma appears at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, January 31, 2022. Jerome Delay/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    South Africa's Zuma suffers new setback in corruption trial
  • Kaba, a mother of a ten-day-old baby, reacts as she sits outside the hospital, where newborn babies died in a fire at the neonatal section of a regional hospital in Tivaouane, Senegal, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
    Families confront horror after 11 babies die in Senegal hospital fire
  • Representational image of a newborn, Photo: Pexels
    Senegal president says 11 newborn babies die in fire at regional hospital
  • Sculls of victims of the Rwandan genocide are seen as part of a display at the Genocide Memorial in Gisozi in Kigali, Rwanda April 6, 2019.REUTERS/Baz Ratner
    Alleged senior leader of 1994 Rwandan genocide confirmed dead
  • Photo :Collected
    Families desperately await news of Burkina miners trapped for 26 days
  • A farmer Boniface Mutize gestures during an interview with Reuters at his soya beans farm in Domboshava, a village in the province of Mashonaland East outside Harare, Zimbabwe, March 21,2022. Picture taken 21 March, 2022. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo
    Ukraine war fuels food crisis in distant Africa

Related News

  • Monkeypox cases are on rise in Europe and US, here is why
  • It’s Africa’s century—for better or worse
  • Bangladeshi shot dead by assailants in Africa
  • Ukraine war fuels food crisis in distant Africa
  • Global scramble for metals thrusts Africa into mining spotlight

Features

A male Baya Weaver beating wings. Photo: Enam Ul Haque

Baya Weavers weave: ‘Must be witnessed to be fully credited’

3h | Panorama
Starlink is ideal in rural or remote locations where internet access has been unreliable or completely unavailable. Photo: SpaceX

Time for a reality check: How viable is Starlink in Bangladesh?

4h | Panorama
First Look: Nissan Magnite 1.0L Turbo

First Look: Nissan Magnite 1.0L Turbo

4h | Wheels
Car myths that really need to go away

Car myths that really need to go away

4h | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Foods that will prevent future famines

Foods that will prevent future famines

2h | Videos
Sustainable initiative of Pcycle creating employment

Sustainable initiative of Pcycle creating employment

3h | Videos
Photo: TBS

Education at Tk1 changing lives, making dreams come true

4h | Videos
Photo: TBS

An electricity bill that connects Brahmanbaria with Tripura

4h | Videos

Most Read

1
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

2
Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards
NBR

Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards

3
Photo: Courtesy
Panorama

Misfit Technologies: A Singaporean startup rooted firmly in Bangladesh

4
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

5
British International Investment (BII) CEO Nick O’Donohoe. Illustration: TBS
Economy

BII to invest $450m in Bangladesh in 5 years

6
Representational image. Picture: Pixabay
Economy

Govt raises regulatory duty to discourage imports of 130 products

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab