The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has declared its intention to invest an impressive $40 million, a move intended to enable several African manufacturers to produce new messenger RNA vaccines. This initiative aims to address the health inequities laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, wherein those on the continent were among the last to receive vaccinations.
The approval and marketing of these vaccines may require a minimum of three additional years; nonetheless, the foundation affirms that the investment in mRNA represents significant progress in rectifying vaccine disparity.
Bill Gates, upon visiting one of the participating facilities – Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal, stated, “mRNA appears to be a promising approach, whether it’s for local diseases in Africa like Rift Valley fever or global diseases like TB.” He extolls the potential of this investment to harness African capabilities and to scale-up vaccine developments.
The announcement coincides with the commencement of the foundation’s annual three-day Grand Challenges event, a global gathering of esteemed scientists and public health researchers.
The mRNA research and manufacturing platform developed by Belgium’s Quantoom Biosciences will be utilized by Institut Pasteur and South Africa’s Biovac. Each of these African-based vaccine manufacturers are set to receive $5 million from the foundation’s investment, with another $10 million designated for as yet undisclosed companies. Quantoom is receiving the remaining $20 million to further the technology and cut costs.
The mRNA vaccine technology made headlines with the production of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines. It involves encoding instructions for protein production into messenger RNA to stimulate the body’s natural defense mechanisms. However, vaccines currently under development in Africa may face a development timeline spanning up to seven years.
Institut Pasteur CEO, Dr. Amadou Sall, emphasized the need for vaccine self-sufficiency within Africa, expressing hope that mRNA technology can be leveraged against diseases endemic to the continent, such as Lassa fever and Rift Valley fever. He noted the imperative nature of vaccine accessibility in light of the recent pandemic, asserting that; “Africans should get vaccinated as a matter of equity.”
Quantoom Biosciences’ CEO, Jose Castillo, highlighted the potential of mRNA technologies for enabling research and development autonomy in developing nations. The platform could potentially facilitate the manufacturing of tens of millions of doses within a minimal physical footprint.
With a formidable endowment of more than $70 billion, the Gates Foundation is recognized as the largest private philanthropic donor. With a projected $8.3 billion to distribute in 2023, the foundation’s influence continues to grow. Previous significant contributions include extensive funding toward polio vaccination, malaria and HIV treatment, and the research of vaccines for diseases like cholera.
