Covid-19 manufacturing roundup: Senegal looks to get in the manufacturing mix; Aspen vaccine exports part of temporary deal

19 Aug 2021
endpts.com
VaccineCollaborate
Amidst another wave of Covid-19, Senegal is preparing a manufacturing plant of its own as the country and its continent severely lag behind the rest of the world on vaccination rates. The Institut Pasteur de Dakar has received $8 million from Europe, and another $3.3 million from the US Development Finance Corporation to build a site with the goal of producing 25 million doses a month by the end of 2022, Time has reported. But officials worry that establishing the infrastructure could be a long way off as a similar footprint in India took nearly 10 years to build. Univercells, a biotech from Belgium, will provide its tech to the Institut Pasteur, after a deal made in April, Time reported. After that, the company will supply viral vector vaccines like the J&J and AstraZeneca shots to countries across Africa, in an effort that could cost $200 million. About 99% of all vaccines used in Africa are imported, and there are only 10 African manufacturers on the continent. Making production available would require training a workforce, Univercells chief investment officer Kate Antrobus told Time. Aspen vaccine exports part of temporary deal, EC says A European Commission spokesperson said the vaccines imported from South Africa to Europe were a part of a temporary agreement with manufacturer Aspen Pharmaceuticals after J&J faced troubles with its US operations. Aspen will bottle the substance that is produced elsewhere and ship it to the EU, to help make up for lost doses from the Emergent Biosolutions debacle, Reuters reported. The deal caused WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to tell reporters he was stunned as Africa has struggled to vaccinate its most vulnerable residents. The US government gave Aspen $200 million to up its capacity earlier in August. The New York Times reported that J&J has been exporting the millions of doses that were bottled and packaged in South Africa to Europe. The Times spoke with executives at J&J and Aspen, and reviewed South African export records, and identified a stipulation in the contract between the two parties that required South Africa to waive its right to export restrictions. So far, J&J has only delivered 21.5 million of the 55 million promised doses to the EU. Only 60% of those have been administered.
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