President Muhammadu Buhari promised BioNTech, a German company that makes mRNA vaccines, on Thursday, that Nigeria is ready to work with them to produce the vaccines domestically.
Buhari added that he hopes to hear from the business that it will increase partnership in order to help Nigeria reach its objective of building up its manufacturing, R&D, and research and development capabilities.
Buhari made this statement when he met with Mr. Holm Keller, the CEO of BioNTech, the company that holds the patent for the mRNA vaccine in Africa, and the Executive Chairman of the KENUP Foundation at the State House in Abuja, according to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
The statement is titled ‘mRNA vaccine production: President Buhari welcomes exploratory interactions between Nigerian scientists, BioNTech.’
Buhari who said that his regime invests “significantly in health, education, in Research and Development” promised to encourage discovery and partnership in joint ventures, such as with a private pharmaceutical company to begin routine vaccines manufacturing in-country.
According to him, ‘‘We are impressed with the numerous possibilities said to be around the mRNA technology and hence seek cooperation with well-intentioned organisations, including yours, to build a strong bilateral partnership with your company and your affiliate bodies, as science gets closer to understanding the possibilities around successful mRNA technology.
‘‘We believe the mRNA technology will help solve other public health challenges too, especially those peculiar to our tropical environment.
‘‘As you conduct exploratory interactions with our scientists in the biomedical field and officials of the Ministry of Health, I look forward to receiving a commitment to expand collaboration to achieve our goal of developing capacities for Research & Development and manufacturing.’’
Buhari said Nigeria and many middle-income nations now understand the necessity for global decentralisation and diversification of production capacity of items vital for public health security after recalling the enormous disparities in availability to COVID-19 vaccines at the peak of the pandemic.
The Foundation and other potential investors were urged to pay “particular attention” to the most populous country in Africa as he also emphasized a number of investment prospects and potentials in the nation.
‘‘KENUP Foundation will find in Nigeria, a suitable research & development ecosystem, in terms of human resource expertise and endemic, deadly disease challenges that require research to help to end with new vaccines.
‘‘Our reputable scientific community has the capacity to engage with you meaningfully in all caliber of research and to add value to your joint effort.
‘‘Nigeria has a long tradition in vaccine manufacturing and laboratories for microbiological research, both in private and public facilities, and also for human and veterinary vaccine research, established over 80 years ago.
“You will find in Nigeria, biosafety Level 3 laboratories and ongoing initiatives with trusted partners to develop Level 4 capacity too. We invest significantly in health, education, in Research and Development and encourage discovery and partnership in joint ventures, such as with a private pharmaceutical company to begin routine vaccines manufacturing in-country,” Buhari said.
Buhari added that Biovaccines Nigeria Limited, a Public Private Partnership company, and other private companies are at various stages of acquiring capacities for local manufacturing of vaccines. He described Nigeria as the preferred destination for ECOWAS citizens in search of markets.
Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the minister of health, stated that Buhari has “passion for public health security, hence your receiving this team,” which was present to investigate potential cooperative opportunities in the production of new vaccines.
According to Keller, his organization is a public-benefit nonprofit committed to vaccine fairness through domestically appropriate manufacturing methods.
“We are working on malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, monkeypox, and other vaccines, to be manufactured in Africa,” he said.
Keller added that there was also the plan to find African personalized treatment for cancer, which is only available to the richest of the rich in some parts of the world.
