13 vaccine manufacturing companies are signed up as members of AVMI
Afrigen Biology is a biotechnical company in Cape Town South Africa focusing on vaccine innovation and production. The adjuvant formulation platform established in Afrigen in 2017 has led to the creation of the first ADJUVANT FORMULATION CENTRE in Africa. Afrigen has developed its pipeline of vaccines using new generation adjuvants and formulations in partnership with owners of relevant antigens.
Below are a few of Afrigens in-house platforms
– Microbial
– Immune Therapies
– mRNA Hub
The WHO mRNA hub at Afrigen, in South Africa, is developing mRNA vaccines and will transfer technology for COVID-19 vaccines and other mRNA products to 15-20 “spokes” in LMICs for commercial production creating a mega network of vaccine manufacturing capacity across LMICs. This program will contribute to future pandemic preparedness in and for low-and middle-income countries. Its core concept is empowerment.
AFRIGEN has more Vaccine Developments in the Pipeline, below are just to name a few.
– African Horse Sickness – Vaccine Improvement & New Vaccine
– Brucellosis Recombinant Vaccine Development
– Ovine Feedlot Vaccine – Novel New Vaccine Development
AfriqVax is a biopharmaceutical company that is advancing cutting-edge science to support vaccine manufacturing, self-sufficiency, and pandemic preparedness in Africa and to advance global health.
At AfriqVax, we focus on providing equitable access to quality vaccines and biologics. Our goal is to protect health and improve lives.
Our Capabilities
- Biomanufacturing: Vaccines and Biologics
- Research & Development: In-house R&D platform with deliberate focus on the vaccines and biologics for priority diseases in Africa.
- Technology Transfer Partnerships: Working with global biotech firms and academic institutions to acquire technology, develop skills, and share knowledge.
- Regulatory Compliance: Dedicated to meeting WHO prequalification standards, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) and the African Medicines Agency (AMA) guidelines.
- Workforce Development: We aim to strengthen our workforce by training scientists, engineers, and technicians in modern biomanufacturing processes.
Pipeline and Focus Areas
- Routine Childhood Vaccines
- Epidemic Preparedness Vaccines and Biologics
- Next-Generation mRNA and Viral Vector Platforms.
- Contract Manufacturing Services (CMO/CDMO)
Headquartered in Durban, South Africa, Aspen is a leading global specialty and branded multinational pharmaceutical company in both emerging and developed markets. Aspen improves the health of patients in more than 115 countries through its high quality, affordable and effective healthcare solutions. The Group’s key business segments are Manufacturing and Commercial Pharmaceuticals comprising Regional Brands and Sterile Focus Brands that include anaesthetics and thrombosis products.
Aspen employs more than 9 000 people and has 69 established business operations in over 50 countries. The Group operates 23 manufacturing facilities across 15 sites and holds international manufacturing approvals from some of the most stringent global regulatory agencies. Its manufacturing capabilities are scalable to demand and cover a wide variety of product-types including steriles, oral solid dose, liquids, semi-solids, biologicals, and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Atlantic Lifesciences Limited is a sister company of Pharmanova Ltd, a major importer and supplier of Anti- Snake serum, Anti-Rabies vaccine and Anti-Tetanus serum in the West African sub region. Atlantic Lifesciences was established in 2017 at Ningo-Prampram, Greater-Accra Region in Ghana to focus primarily on sterile manufacturing. Hence, the company has fully operational Large & Small Volume Parenterals, Ophthalmic drops and Anaesthetics production lines.
As a company with keen interest in supporting the AU’s vision of having 60% of vaccines needed in Africa produced locally, Atlantic Lifesciences has set up a state-of-the-art Vaccine & Serum Fill & Finish facility and intends to fill and finish various vaccines locally when on full stream. These include Tetanus Toxoid, Pentavalent, Meningococcal, Pneumococcal, Anti-rabies, Malaria vaccine, Typhoid Vaccine, Haemophilus Influenza type B and Recombinant Hepatitis B vaccines.
In the long term, other recombinant vaccines including mRNA vaccines will also be produced. Atlantic will commence the production of biological products (sera) including Anti-Snake Venom Serum, Anti-Rabies immunoglobulin, and Anti-Tetanus Serum by the second quarter of 2023. Atlantic is poised to work in collaboration with PAVM, AVMI, and other AU agencies to contribute to achieving the AU’s goal of developing, producing and supplying at least 60% of Africa’s vaccines on the continent by 2040.
Biovac is a public private partnership established to revive the development and manufacture of vaccines and biologicals in South Africa for the region. Their goal is to ensure that the country has the required domestic capacity to respond to local and regional vaccine needs through the supply of quality products and the establishment of world-class manufacturing facilities.
DEK Vaccines Limited is a vaccine manufacturing facility based in Accra, Ghana. The project is strategically in-line with objectives of preparedness for the next pandemic (WHO) as well as health security of Africans. Pharm. Kofi Nsiah-Poku the founder of Kina Group and Managing Director of DEK Vaccines Limited is the sole shareholder of DEK.
In Phase 1 of the project DEK will focus on Fill & Finish and will progress to Drug Substance and Drug Product in Phase 2. The vaccines that will be produced in the initial phase are: Malaria, Cholera, Cervical Cancer (HPV) and Hexavalent. The DEK facility is engineered to produce 600 million vaccine doses annually under BSL-2 and strict GMP conditions. Filling lines are equipped with Isolators, and the cold storage facility is designed to store 150 million vaccines doses with mRNA vaccines at -70 to -90o Celsius and EPI and Novel vaccines at 2-8o Celsius.
EVA Pharma is dedicated to improving access to affordable, high-quality medicines by focusing on innovation, development and sustainable access. Leveraging two research centers, the company is localizing advanced capabilities within the Middle East and Africa, including mRNA R&D from AI prediction to biological products.
EVA Pharma has built strong manufacturing capabilities from egg-based vaccine technologies to biologics fill-finish capacity of 100 million vaccine vials. With a special focus on avian influenza prevention, the company is developing a diverse vaccine portfolio projected to exceed 1.2 billion doses.
EVA Pharma is adopting cell culture-based vaccine technology for highly infectious diseases, with a roadmap to scale production to 15 million doses. This is complemented by establishing bacterial fermentation-based production capabilities.
Additionally, EVA Pharma is advancing next-generation mRNA technology bringing cutting-edge innovation to the vaccine industry. The company’s in-house R&D footprint—one of the first in Africa—enables early discovery at its mRNA Innovation Hub to handle the complete mRNA vaccine development lifecycle, from digital sequencing to final drug formulation.
Gennvax Egypt will be the first full production vaccine/ biologicals facility with the biggest R&D hub that will cater the whole African continent. Led by top vaccines / industrial affairs experts handpicked from all countries makes Gennvax a unique project in addition Gennvax will be the first WHO PQ accredited vaccine facility and this is now doable after the fact that Egyptian drug authority (EDA) was granted ML3 accreditation by WHO recently.
Gennvax has brought onboard a consortium of cosmopolitan investors from across the globe including public stake holders which creates a full PPP project which makes it an unprecedented approach across the continent when it comes to high tech sophisticated pharma facilities.
– Gennvax will be the biggest full production cycle vaccines facility in the region catering Africa and the MEA region
– Gennvax will have Full vaccines portfolio for current NIPs needs and for future EPI modernization / additions across the region.
– Gennvax will be Applying the highest vaccine manufacturing technologies with a robust R&D infrastructure.
– Gennvax will be the First facility in the region with Green Energy (Solar panels)
The mission of Innovative Biotech is to develop advance products and services for licensing or sale to medical clinics/facilities, governments and distribution companies located throughout the world and Africa in particular, where we have extensive experience and business connections. Many major public health diseases in developing countries are preventable by treatments and therapeutics already available or currently being introduced in developed countries.
Our goal is to identify the potential health care solutions, assess the most appropriate distribution strategy, acquire the necessary resources to implement the strategy and successfully export the therapies into the developing Countries. The ultimate goal is to provide the infrastructure that will create the maximum probability for commercial success.
VaxSen is the commercial subsidiary of Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), a private charitable foundation founded in 1896 and the first WHO-prequalified vaccine manufacturer in Africa since 1937. VaxSen is 100% owned by IPD and is dedicated to manufacturing, commercialization, and distribution of vaccines produced at the MADIBA facility (Manufacturing in Africa for Disease Immunization and Building Autonomy). VaxSen maintains separate governance and administration, ensuring operational independence while aligning with IPD’s public health mission and equitable vaccine access goals.
Kenya BioVax Institute (KBI) is a state corporation under Kenya’s Ministry of Health, established in 2021 to develop, manufacture and commercialize vaccines, biologics and other health products and technologies. KBI’s core focus is building end-to-end vaccine manufacturing capacity; supporting research, product development and technology transfer; strengthening quality-management and regulatory-readiness systems; developing specialized biomanufacturing talent; and translating scientific innovations into accessible health products.
KBI is committed to advancing Africa’s vaccine sovereignty and health security by progressively establishing sustainable local manufacturing capabilities, including fill-and-finish and, ultimately, drug-substance production. Through partnerships with African governments and institutions, Africa CDC, AVMI, research organizations, regulators, academia, industry and development partners, KBI seeks to accelerate technology transfer, workforce development, product development and market access. Its ambition is to help expand reliable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines; strengthen preparedness for outbreaks and pandemics; reduce dependence on external supply chains; and contribute to the African Union’s goal of producing at least 60% of the continent’s vaccine needs locally by 2040.
VAIUG, an affiliate of Microhaem Scientifics and Medical Supplies Uganda Ltd, specializes in vaccine manufacturing. They plan to produce as Fill and Finish, the Hexavalent (HPV, HiB, Hep B, and IPV), the trivalent Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR), and the multivariate HPV vaccines. Ultimately through R&D branch, they hope to build capacity to manufacture vaccines from end to end. They hope to bridge the wide gap between local manufacture and local consumption which now depends almost entirely (99%) on importation.
VBC (Vaccines and Biotechnology City) is Egypt’s comprehensive, state-of-the-art biopharma hub, initiated under a Presidential Vision and operating through a pioneering 3P’s National Private Public Partnership model between the private partners, MEVAC (A KEMIN COMPANY), “An Egyptian American company”, and the public partner, the National Services Project Organization (NSPO), which provides strategic government backing
VBC’s core mission is to establish a self-sufficient, full-cycle development framework that guarantees sustainable vaccine access across its 115,000 m2 integrated facility.
VBC is deeply invested in advancing Africa’s vaccine development and manufacturing capability, with the vision of making Egypt a driving force in the continent’s journey toward self-sufficiency.
By aligning with the African Union’s 2040 objective for 60% local vaccine production, VBC is rapidly scaling its capacity: aiming to produce 140 million human vaccine doses and 5 billion veterinary vaccine doses by 2030. This capacity expands significantly to 690 million human doses and 11 billion veterinary doses by 2040.
VBC capabilities are strengthened by its “One Health” approach, a comprehensive R&D platform, and the VBC Academy, which is dedicated to cultivating a new generation of highly skilled biopharma professionals.
Afrigen Biology is a biotechnical company in Cape Town South Africa focusing on vaccine innovation and production. The adjuvant formulation platform established in Afrigen in 2017 has led to the creation of the first ADJUVANT FORMULATION CENTRE in Africa. Afrigen has developed its pipeline of vaccines using new generation adjuvants and formulations in partnership with owners of relevant antigens.
Below are a few of Afrigens in-house platforms
– Microbial
– Immune Therapies
– mRNA Hub
The WHO mRNA hub at Afrigen, in South Africa, is developing mRNA vaccines and will transfer technology for COVID-19 vaccines and other mRNA products to 15-20 “spokes” in LMICs for commercial production creating a mega network of vaccine manufacturing capacity across LMICs. This program will contribute to future pandemic preparedness in and for low-and middle-income countries. Its core concept is empowerment.
AFRIGEN has more Vaccine Developments in the Pipeline, below are just to name a few.
– African Horse Sickness – Vaccine Improvement & New Vaccine
– Brucellosis – Recombinant Vaccine Development
– Ovine Feedlot Vaccine – Novel New Vaccine Development
AfriqVax is a biopharmaceutical company that is advancing cutting-edge science to support vaccine manufacturing, self-sufficiency, and pandemic preparedness in Africa and to advance global health.
At AfriqVax, we focus on providing equitable access to quality vaccines and biologics. Our goal is to protect health and improve lives.
Our Capabilities
- Biomanufacturing: Vaccines and Biologics
- Research & Development: In-house R&D platform with deliberate focus on the vaccines and biologics for priority diseases in Africa.
- Technology Transfer Partnerships: Working with global biotech firms and academic institutions to acquire technology, develop skills, and share knowledge.
- Regulatory Compliance: Dedicated to meeting WHO prequalification standards, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) and the African Medicines Agency (AMA) guidelines.
- Workforce Development: We aim to strengthen our workforce by training scientists, engineers, and technicians in modern biomanufacturing processes.
Pipeline and Focus Areas
- Routine Childhood Vaccines
- Epidemic Preparedness Vaccines and Biologics
- Next-Generation mRNA and Viral Vector Platforms.
- Contract Manufacturing Services (CMO/CDMO)
Headquartered in Durban, South Africa, Aspen is a leading global specialty and branded multinational pharmaceutical company in both emerging and developed markets.
Aspen improves the health of patients in more than 115 countries through its high quality, affordable and effective healthcare solutions. The Group’s key business segments are Manufacturing and Commercial Pharmaceuticals comprising Regional Brands and Sterile Focus Brands that include anaesthetics and thrombosis products.
Aspen employs more than 9 000 people and has 69 established business operations in over 50 countries. The Group operates 23 manufacturing facilities across 15 sites and holds international manufacturing approvals from some of the most stringent global regulatory agencies. Its manufacturing capabilities are scalable to demand and cover a wide variety of product-types including steriles, oral solid dose, liquids, semi-solids, biologicals, and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Atlantic Lifesciences Limited is a sister company of Pharmanova Ltd, a major importer and supplier of Anti- Snake serum, Anti-Rabies vaccine and Anti-Tetanus serum in the West African sub region. Atlantic Lifesciences was established in 2017 at Ningo-Prampram, Greater-Accra Region in Ghana to focus primarily on sterile manufacturing. Hence, the company has fully operational Large & Small Volume Parenterals, Ophthalmic drops and Anaesthetics production lines.
As a company with keen interest in supporting the AU’s vision of having 60% of vaccines needed in Africa produced locally, Atlantic Lifesciences has set up a state-of-the-art Vaccine & Serum Fill & Finish facility and intends to fill and finish various vaccines locally when on full stream. These include Tetanus Toxoid, Pentavalent, Meningococcal, Pneumococcal, Anti-rabies, Malaria vaccine, Typhoid Vaccine, Haemophilus Influenza type B and Recombinant Hepatitis B vaccines.
In the long term, other recombinant vaccines including mRNA vaccines will also be produced. Atlantic will commence the production of biological products (sera) including Anti-Snake Venom Serum, Anti-Rabies immunoglobulin, and Anti-Tetanus Serum by the second quarter of 2023. Atlantic is poised to work in collaboration with PAVM, AVMI, and other AU agencies to contribute to achieving the AU’s goal of developing, producing and supplying at least 60% of Africa’s vaccines on the continent by 2040.
Biovac is a public private partnership established to revive the development and manufacture of vaccines and biologicals in South Africa for the region. Their goal is to ensure that the country has the required domestic capacity to respond to local and regional vaccine needs through the supply of quality products and the establishment of world-class manufacturing facilities.
DEK Vaccines Limited is a vaccine manufacturing facility based in Accra, Ghana. The project is strategically in-line with objectives of preparedness for the next pandemic (WHO) as well as health security of Africans.
Pharm. Kofi Nsiah-Poku the founder of Kina Group and Managing Director of DEK Vaccines Limited is the sole shareholder of DEK.
In Phase 1 of the project DEK will focus on Fill & Finish and will progress to Drug Substance and Drug Product in Phase 2. The vaccines that will be produced in the initial phase are: Malaria, Cholera, Cervical Cancer (HPV) and Hexavalent.
The DEK facility is engineered to produce 600 million vaccine doses annually under BSL-2 and strict GMP conditions. Filling lines are equipped with Isolators, and the cold storage facility is designed to store 150 million vaccines doses with mRNA vaccines at -70 to -90o Celsius and EPI and Novel vaccines at 2-8o Celsius.
EVA Pharma is dedicated to improving access to affordable, high-quality medicines by focusing on innovation, development and sustainable access. Leveraging two research centers, the company is localizing advanced capabilities within the Middle East and Africa, including mRNA R&D from AI prediction to biological products.
EVA Pharma has built strong manufacturing capabilities from egg-based vaccine technologies to biologics fill-finish capacity of 100 million vaccine vials. With a special focus on avian influenza prevention, the company is developing a diverse vaccine portfolio projected to exceed 1.2 billion doses.
EVA Pharma is adopting cell culture-based vaccine technology for highly infectious diseases, with a roadmap to scale production to 15 million doses. This is complemented by establishing bacterial fermentation-based production capabilities.
Additionally, EVA Pharma is advancing next-generation mRNA technology bringing cutting-edge innovation to the vaccine industry. The company’s in-house R&D footprint—one of the first in Africa—enables early discovery at its mRNA Innovation Hub to handle the complete mRNA vaccine development lifecycle, from digital sequencing to final drug formulation.
Gennvax Egypt will be the first full production vaccine/ biologicals facility with the biggest R&D hub that will cater the whole African continent.
Led by top vaccines / industrial affairs experts handpicked from all countries makes Gennvax a unique project in addition Gennvax will be the first WHO PQ accredited vaccine facility and this is now doable after the fact that Egyptian drug authority (EDA) was granted ML3 accreditation by WHO recently.
Gennvax is having onboard a consortium of cosmopolitan investors from across the globe including public stake holders which creates a full PPP project which makes it an unprecedented approach across the continent when it comes to high tech sophisticated pharma facilities.
– Gennvax will be the biggest full production cycle vaccines facility in the region catering Africa and the MEA region
– Gennvax will have Full vaccines portfolio for current NIPs needs and for future EPI modernization / additions across the region.
– Gennvax will be Applying the highest vaccine manufacturing technologies with a robust R&D infrastructure.
Gennvax will be the First facility in the region with Green Energy (Solar panels)
The mission of Innovative Biotech is to develop advance products and services for licensing or sale to medical clinics/facilities, governments and distribution companies located throughout the world and Africa in particular, where we have extensive experience and business connections. Many major public health diseases in developing countries are preventable by treatments and therapeutics already available or currently being introduced in developed countries.
Our goal is to identify the potential health care solutions, assess the most appropriate distribution strategy, acquire the necessary resources to implement the strategy and successfully export the therapies into the developing Countries. The ultimate goal is to provide the infrastructure that will create the maximum probability for commercial success.
VaxSen is the commercial subsidiary of Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD), a private charitable foundation founded in 1896 and the first WHO-prequalified vaccine manufacturer in Africa since 1937. VaxSen is 100% owned by IPD and is dedicated to manufacturing, commercialization, and distribution of vaccines produced at the MADIBA facility (Manufacturing in Africa for Disease Immunization and Building Autonomy). VaxSen maintains separate governance and administration, ensuring operational independence while aligning with IPD’s public health mission and equitable vaccine access goals.
Kenya BioVax Institute (KBI) is a state corporation under Kenya’s Ministry of Health, established in 2021 to develop, manufacture and commercialize vaccines, biologics and other health products and technologies. KBI’s core focus is building end-to-end vaccine manufacturing capacity; supporting research, product development and technology transfer; strengthening quality-management and regulatory-readiness systems; developing specialized biomanufacturing talent; and translating scientific innovations into accessible health products.
KBI is committed to advancing Africa’s vaccine sovereignty and health security by progressively establishing sustainable local manufacturing capabilities, including fill-and-finish and, ultimately, drug-substance production. Through partnerships with African governments and institutions, Africa CDC, AVMI, research organizations, regulators, academia, industry and development partners, KBI seeks to accelerate technology transfer, workforce development, product development and market access. Its ambition is to help expand reliable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines; strengthen preparedness for outbreaks and pandemics; reduce dependence on external supply chains; and contribute to the African Union’s goal of producing at least 60% of the continent’s vaccine needs locally by 2040.
VAIUG, an affiliate of Microhaem Scientifics and Medical Supplies Uganda Ltd, specializes in vaccine manufacturing.
We plan to produce as Fill and Finish, the Hexavalent (HPV, HiB, Hep B, and IPV), the trivalent Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR), and the multivariate HPV vaccines. Ultimately through R&D branch, we hope to build capacity to manufacture vaccines from end to end. We hope to bridge the wide gap between local manufacture and local consumption which now depends almost entirely (99%) on importation.
VBC (Vaccines and Biotechnology City) is Egypt’s comprehensive, state-of-the-art biopharma hub, initiated under a Presidential Vision and operating through a pioneering 3P’s National Private Public Partnership model between the private partners, MEVAC (A KEMIN COMPANY), “An Egyptian American company”, and the public partner, the National Services Project Organization (NSPO), which provides strategic government backing
VBC’s core mission is to establish a self-sufficient, full-cycle development framework that guarantees sustainable vaccine access across its 115,000 m2 integrated facility.
VBC is deeply invested in advancing Africa’s vaccine development and manufacturing capability, with the vision of making Egypt a driving force in the continent’s journey toward self-sufficiency.
By aligning with the African Union’s 2040 objective for 60% local vaccine production, VBC is rapidly scaling its capacity: aiming to produce 140 million human vaccine doses and 5 billion veterinary vaccine doses by 2030. This capacity expands significantly to 690 million human doses and 11 billion veterinary doses by 2040.
VBC capabilities are strengthened by its “One Health” approach, a comprehensive R&D platform, and the VBC Academy, which is dedicated to cultivating a new generation of highly skilled biopharma professionals.
