Page 173 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Supporting a Vaccine Development Ecosystem

mRNA Technology Transfer Hub

mRNA Hub partners and supporters

mRNA Hub funders

The mRNA Technology Transfer Programme is The SAMRC established the South African mRNA
a global initiative established by the WHO in Vaccine Consortium (SAMVAC) in 2022 to drive
partnership with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) the research, development and testing of mRNA
that aims to improve health and health security vaccine candidates, focusing on the priority diseases
by establishing sustainable, locally owned mRNA of South-Africa and Africa. SAMVAC comprises of 10
manufacturing capabilities in and for low- and consortium members, including the University of
middle-income countries (LMICs) to enable a more the Witwatersrand (Wits), Wits Health Consortium
equitable response to future pandemics. The South (WHC), the University of Cape Town (UCT), the African
Africa-based hub comprises of Afrigen Biologics, Health Research Institute (AHRI), the University of
Stellenbosch (SU), North-West University (NWU),
the SAMRC and Biovac, a South African vaccine the National Institute for Communicable Diseases
producer and manufacturing partner in the LMIC (NICD), the SAMRC, the CSIR and Afrigen Biologics.
network. Within this consortium, Afrigen is the entity Each consortium member plays a role in fulfilling
mandated to establish mRNA vaccine production the product development value chain and a key
technology and to transfer this technology to other goal has been to fill any existing gaps and ensure
LMIC partners, whilst the SAMRC is coordinating that South Africa has the capability to take an
an mRNA vaccine research and development mRNA vaccine candidate all the way through the
programme to contribute to sustainability of the hub. product development process from identification of

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