The new beneficiaries from the initiative, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Serbia and Vietnam, are set to receive technical support from the WHO’s global messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology transfer hub in South Africa to manufacture their own mRNA vaccines.

The move came after the UN health agency announced earlier this month that it had chosen six African countries that will receive support from the South African hub to locally manufacture their own mRNA vaccine.

The hub in South Africa was established in July last year after the WHO implemented the decision to establish such a hub in a bid to scale up production and access to COVID-19 vaccines that comply with international standards.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus underlined the importance of increasing the capacity of low- and middle-income countries, which have been hindered by cost or human resource barriers that have prevented them from developing and manufacturing mRNA vaccines. 

“The aim of the hub is to provide a facility where manufacturers from low- and middle-income countries can receive training in how to produce certain vaccines, and their licenses to do so,” he said on Wednesday, adding that the five new beneficiary countries were set to receive the training starting on July.

“We believe the mRNA technology-transfer hub holds huge promise, not just for increased access to vaccines against COVID-19, but for other diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis and cancer.”

Indonesia’s gain

The inclusion in the WHO’s transfer-of-technology initiative for vaccine production has elicited a positive response from Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, who said that such a move would allow Indonesia to serve the future needs in Southeast Asia for mRNA vaccines and would increase vaccine equity – an issue for which the country has long campaigned.

“This transfer of technology will certainly contribute to equal access to health countermeasures, thus helping us recover together and recover stronger,” said Retno, referring to the slogan of Indonesia’s Group of 20 presidency.

“This is the kind of solution that developing countries need, a solution that empowers, a solution that strengthens our self-reliance, a solution that allows us to contribute to global health resilience.”

Retno added that state-owned pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma had been appointed by the government to receive the technical support from the South African hub.

Bio Farma president director Honesti Basyir has also welcomed Bio Farma’s inclusion as part of the technology-transfer initiative, saying that it would be crucial in allowing Indonesia to develop its own vaccine independently.

Honesti said that Bio Farma had also begun conducting its own preparations to facilitate production of mRNA vaccines, including construction of the production facility, as well as human resource training.

“We will also be learning to master the mRNA technology platform for vaccines beyond COVID-19,” Honesti said through a release on Thursday. “In addition to making vaccines, the mRNA technology can also be used to manufacture therapeutic products, such as cancer drugs and other products."

South Korea’s Hub

In addition, the WHO also announced the establishment of a “global biomanufacturing training hub” in South Korea that will provide support for low- and middle-income countries seeking to produce biological products such as vaccines, insulin, monoclonal antibodies and cancer treatments.

The South Korean facility has been conducting human-resource training for bio-manufacturing and will expand its operations to welcome new trainees from other countries in Asia as well as Africa and South America starting in July this year.

“[South] Korea will strive to support all [nations] in strengthening their capabilities in manufacturing vaccines. The challenges of the coronavirus pandemic reminds us of the critical need for nations to collaborate and stand in solidarity with one another in order to overcome this global crisis of the public health system,” said South Korea’s Health and Welfare Minister Kwon Deok Cheol.

Aside from expediting global efforts to produce COVID-19 vaccines, the WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, said that the vaccine technology transfer hubs were also intended to serve an important role even after the pandemic.

“We are looking at this as a medium- to long-term initiative, not necessarily [only to] solve the problems of 2022. We know the pandemic hasn't ended, we know there may be ongoing demand for vaccines, so this project may satisfy those demands in the future, and perhaps make even better vaccines,” Soumya said during Wednesday’s event.

Soumya said that the technology-transfer hubs would enable the world to pivot the extensive amounts of funding, as well as research and development that have been put into COVID-19 vaccines to come up with new technology and upscale the production of mRNA vaccines for other diseases. (mrc)

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