About 108 organizations across four regions responded to a survey conducted by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to map and identify where vaccine manufacturing capacity and capability can be further developed as part of future epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response.
The responding organizations were located across Africa, Southeast Asia, Middle East, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean, and included small academic research and development laboratories to large-scale vaccine manufacturers and pharmaceutical organizations, according to an initial data review presented by Matthew Downham, sustainable manufacturing lead at CEPI, during a session of the first World Local Production Forum.
“The distribution suggests that there is no or minimal research and development across these regions. It's not saying there's none, but it is low-level,” Downham said.
Many of the respondents also expressed interest in establishing or expanding their vaccine manufacturing capabilities, he said, with a focus on potentially expanding vaccine capacity for fill and finish to supply, or transferring in messenger RNA vaccine technology.
Why it matters: COVID-19 has shown the need to establish, expand and diversify vaccine manufacturing across geographic regions, particularly for the benefit of low- and middle-income countries, many of whom continue to struggle in accessing doses because of supply shortages. The African continent, as an example, has fully vaccinated just 1.12% of its population.
Mapping where and what vaccine manufacturing capacities are available across geographic regions would be helpful to inform investment decisions.
Helping ramp up vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle-income countries is part of CEPI’s new strategy. But the coalition won’t be building manufacturing plants. Instead, it will assist in developing capacity in countries, including linking governments and funders, and technology transfers.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
