BioNTech signs deal to build vaccine manufacturing facility in Rwanda

Pharmaceutical giant BioNTech has signed a deal to build a vaccine manufacturing facility in Rwanda in Africa.

BioNTech signed an agreement with the Rwandan government and Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal today, Tuesday, October 26, for the construction of the first mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa. Building work is expected to start in mid-2022, it is hoped the project will help the continent ease health inequalities compared with other world regions.

The African governments of Senegal and Rwanda have both signed an agreement with German company BioNTech for the construction of its first start-to-finish factories to make messenger RNA vaccines in Africa.

BioNTech, which developed the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, said today that construction will start in mid-2022. It is working with the Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, and the Rwandan government, a statement said.

“State-of-the-art facilities like this will be life-savers and game-changers for Africa and could lead to millions of cutting-edge vaccines being made for Africans, by Africans in Africa. This is also crucial for transferring knowledge and know-how, bringing in new jobs and skills and ultimately strengthening Africa’s health security,” said Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Africa.

Ugur Sahin, the co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, said its goal is “to develop vaccines in the African Union and to establish sustainable vaccine production capabilities to jointly improve medical care in Africa.”

“I would like to thank all participants of today’s meeting for the support and trust to establish the first mRNA manufacturing facility within the African Union. Together, we will work on developing a regional manufacturing network to support the access to vaccines manufactured in Africa, for Africa,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech, adding:

“Our goal is to develop vaccines in the African Union and to establish sustainable vaccine production capabilities to jointly improve medical care in Africa. We have made great progress in the past few weeks, which will help us on our way to turning these plans into reality.”

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