Pfizer & BioNTech have announced the signing of a letter of intent with the Biovac Institute, a South African biopharmaceutical company, to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines for distribution on the African continent.
Under the agreement, Biovac will complete the last step in the manufacturing process of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, known as “fill and finish,” the companies said in a statement on Wednesday, 21 July 2021.
“This is a critical step forward in strengthening sustainable access to a vaccine in the fight against this tragic, worldwide pandemic,” said Biovac chief executive officer Morena Makhoana.
The “technical transfer, on-site development and equipment installation activities will begin immediately,” the statement added.
“We aim to enable people on all continents to manufacture and distribute our vaccine while ensuring the quality of the manufacturing process and the doses,” said Ugur Sahin, BioNTech’s co-founder and CEO.
The project will take time to get off the ground however, with the first African-finished Pfizer vaccines not expected before 2022.
Once up and running, Biovac is set to churn out more than 100 million doses annually that will be distributed to the 55 countries in the African Union.
The move comes amid growing criticism of vaccine inequality that has seen poor countries fall behind richer ones in the race to protect people from the coronavirus.