CEPI, IPD partner to advance COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in Africa

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) recently collaborated to advance COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in Africa.

CEPI seeks to develop vaccines against future epidemics, while IPD is a non-profit public interest foundation located in Senegal endeavoring to contribute to public health and well-being in Sénégal and Africa.

“Over one year after the first COVID-19 vaccine was given, deep vaccine inequity persists,” CEPI Chief Executive Officer Dr. Richard Hatchett said. “It is clear that additional, globally distributed manufacturing capacity is needed to reduce the reliance of the majority of the world on just a few countries for vaccines. I commend our partners at IPD for their rapid progress towards this goal and look forward to supporting their work to establish a vaccine manufacturing hub for Africa.”

Officials said IPD’s new modular facility will manufacture up to 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine annually for use in Africa. The organization is slated to begin vaccine production in the third quarter of 2022.

“Africa remains in the acute phase of the pandemic, and we are committed to doing our part to address the COVID-19 vaccine inequity that sadly persists,” Institut Pasteur de Dakar Director Amadou Sall said. “We also have a broader vision to expand and diversify to new vaccines for multiple diseases that continue to threaten public health in Africa. In that spirit, we welcome this strategic partnership and look forward to working with CEPI, the Government of Sénégal, Africa CDC, WHO, and other partners to realize the promise of MADIBA to develop vaccines in Africa, for Africa.”