Opportunities for Africa in COVID-19 Vaccine Market

Africa’s vaccine manufacturing capacity remains low accounting for a mere 1% of the all the inoculation products used in the continent despite the huge potential for local production in countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal.

With the emergence of the deadly COVID-19 in the region during the first quarter of 2019, some of the African countries have not only realized the risks of the minimal capacity of the continent to manufacture a vaccine but also identified some among them that have shown potential to quickly transform themselves into vaccine makers with a proper regulatory framework, financial and manpower resources and global support.

In fact, South Africa, which has the largest share of COVID-19 infections in Africa, commenced in late 2020 the third efficacy vaccine trial with participation of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson an indication of the yet to be exploited potential for scaling up vaccine clinical trials in the region and possibly manufacture of the inoculation products. (1)

Despite the minimal capacity to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine at the moment, Africa has taken steps to hasten access the new vaccines discovered and produced elsewhere in the world to contain virus that had infected an estimated 3 million people and caused the deaths of 71,000 as of January 7, 2021.

For example, with the support of the African Union, a 55-member intergovernmental organization in the continent, countries in the continent have launched the Africa COVID-19 vaccine development and access strategy that is being implemented through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Consortium for COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial (CONCVACT). (2)

The purpose of this strategy is contain the COVID-19 infection rate, prevent fatalities from the virus, push for more participation by Africa in the search for new vaccines and minimize other adverse social and economic effects associated with the virus.

Actually, AU chairman Cyril Ramaphosa previously explained the strategy saying “success in developing and providing access to a safe vaccine requires an innovative and collaborative approach, with significant local manufacturing in Africa.” (2)

Furthermore, with no production of COVID-19 vaccine in the continent, the number of countries placing vaccine requisition orders with GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation ) has been rising as others such as South Africa and Nigeria relax their vaccine registration processes to fast-track safe delivery and supply of the vaccines. (3)

Kenya has for example ordered for 24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that is expected by February this year.

“The first to be vaccinated will be frontline workers, then the vulnerable and the elderly,” said Patrick Amoth, Director-General of Health Services in Kenya in an interview with local media. (4)

 “The Oxford University-Astrazeneca candidate will be ideal for Kenya because it fits within our cold chain pharmaceutical logistics system and can be stored in 2-8 degrees and we have refrigerators for that,” Amoth was quoted saying. (4)

Going forward, Africa is pushing a bigger role in the global clinical trials and the manufacture of new COVID-19 with South Africa and Nigeria already easing restrictions on the new vaccine registration processes to fast-track the local manufacture of the COVID-19 vaccine to support suppression of the pandemic that has infected nearly 1.3 million people and caused the deaths 34,174 others in the two countries. (5)

For example, the drug regulatory agencies in the two countries have borrowed from the World Health Organization the vaccine prequalification procedures to facilitate “the efficient registration of WHO-approved vaccines in low- and middle-income countries” according to GAVI Alliance.

Both Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and South Africa’s South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, have embraced decisions by international agencies such as the US Food & Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency that are considered more transparent when it comes to approvals of COVID-19 vaccines.

“This means that vaccines that have already gained approval from these external regulators will qualify for both NAFDAC and SAHPRA’s fast-track domestic review process for regulatory approval and licensing,” says GAVI.

Review of applications for registration of new vaccines is now expected to be reduced from several months to at least 15 days.

Of immediate concern for African governments is how to ensure close coordination of State agencies to guarantee seamless transmission of the vaccines from the point of arrival into any given country to designated vaccination centres.

More importantly is for governments and private sector in Africa to mobilize financial resources to ensure access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Currently, Africa requires an estimated US$12 billion for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines and financing the development of the continent’s manufacturing capacity. (2)

REFERENCES

1.     https://www.samrc.ac.za/media-release/women-scientists-lead-south-african-leg-phase-3-janssen-efficacy-covid-19-vaccine

2.     https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20201108/statement-au-vaccines-financing-strategy

3.     https://au.int/en/documents/20201005/africa-cdc-consortium-covid-19-vaccine-clinical-trials-concvact

4.     https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/what-you-need-know-about-covid-19-vaccine-approvals-nigeria-and-south-africa

5.     https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2020-12-14-kenya-orders-24-million-doses-of-covid-19-vaccine/

About the Author:

With great honor and pleasure, PharmaSources.com has now invited Shem Oirere as one of the original writers. He graduated from the University of South Africa with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy and also holds a Diploma in Journalism from the London School of Journalism. He previously worked for the Kenya Times, Nation Media Group and The People Daily over a twenty-year span as a business writer and Sub-editor. He wishes to share a view of the scenes behind Africa's latest pharma market trends with the rest of the world.