https://newsletter.en.creamermedia.com
Africa|Building|Construction|Health|Infrastructure|Manufacturing|SECURITY|Storage|Sustainable|Technology|Manufacturing |Products|Infrastructure
Africa|Building|Construction|Health|Infrastructure|Manufacturing|SECURITY|Storage|Sustainable|Technology|Manufacturing |Products|Infrastructure
africa|building|construction|health|infrastructure|manufacturing|security|storage|sustainable|technology|manufacturing-industry-term|products|infrastructure

Biovac, Pfizer commemorate strategic partnership with Biovac Freezer Farm unveiling

13th March 2023

By: Tasneem Bulbulia

Senior Contributing Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

During a visit to local biopharmaceutical company Biovac’s manufacturing facility on March 9, Pfizer and Biovac held a showcase of their partnership, including an official opening ceremony of the recently completed Freezer Farm facility, for a delegation of global Pfizer executives, the US Consulate and South Africa’s Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel.

The partnership between Pfizer and Biovac was first established in 2015 to support the establishment of a sustainable supply of Pfizer’s pneumococcal vaccine. Over 20-million doses of vaccines are delivered a year by Biovac, with a considerable number of these said to be locally manufactured.

This journey has witnessed the full technology transfer of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

With the technology transfer completed in 2022, Biovac can locally manufacture and distribute over three-million vaccine doses of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate to the National Department of Health yearly towards the immunisation of babies in South Africa.

To date, Pfizer has invested over R855-million in Biovac in the form of infrastructure and skills development, with the economic benefit to the South African economy estimated to be over R500-million a year.

The last investment was announced at the South African Investment Conference in March 2022 and is considered a critical step forward in strengthening sustainable access to vaccines and a major boost to pandemic preparedness.

A key deliverable of the additional investment was the construction of the Freezer Farm facility, which will serve as an ultracold storage facility and adds to the institute’s capacity for vaccine storage and supply.

It is a 1 100 m2, two-storey building, which houses 135 ultralow temperature freezers that allow for the storage of vaccine products up to minus 70 °C, and the storage of the locally manufactured Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

“We are pleased that this partnership between government and the private sector has brought to fruition the pledges made by Pfizer at the last South African Investment Conference.

“To produce life-saving vaccines is a positive development for South Africa as we are currently dependent on the import of human vaccines. The success of this facility can enable greater health security on the African continent,” Patel said during the visit.

“The US government is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with South Africa in support of US companies such as Pfizer and their South Africa partner Biovac, whose investments make a real difference to health outcomes and support local upliftment – including the creation of jobs and the development of critical skills,” US Consul General Todd P Haskell commented.

“The partnership between Biovac and Pfizer has enabled us to expand our capabilities to locally produce not only the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine, but also the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, one of the largest paediatric vaccines included in South Africa’s Expanded Programme for Immunisation – the early childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

“These partnerships are the building blocks towards the ultimate vision of Biovac being an end-to-end manufacturer of vaccines,” acclaimed Biovac CEO Dr Morena Makhoana.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Showroom

Alcohol Breathalysers
Alcohol Breathalysers

Supplier & Distributor of the Widest Range of Accurate & Easy-to-Use Alcohol Breathalysers

VISIT SHOWROOM 
M and J Mining
M and J Mining

M and J Mining are leading suppliers of physical support systems as used by the underground mining industry. Our selection of products are not...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (15/11/2024)
15th November 2024 By: Martin Creamer

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.091 0.267s - 173pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now