Turning momentum into vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa

Local vaccine manufacturing has become a strategic priority for Africa in recent years. Growing vaccine demand, the continent’s high burden of vaccine-preventable diseases and shifts in development aid funding have reinforced the need for a more resilient and sustainable vaccine supply. Against this backdrop, local manufacturing is seen as a promising solution to enable broader availability of innovative vaccines, reduce dependence on external suppliers and strengthen preparedness for future health emergencies.

Successful vaccine manufacturing requires balancing disease burden, manufacturing feasibility and commercial viability. Based on these parameters, the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) identified 22 target diseases, to help guide manufacturers and build momentum towards strengthening local capacity.¹ Of these, vaccines for 10 diseases have subsequently been prioritised for local manufacturing in Africa: cholera, Ebola, HPV, malaria, measles-rubella, meningococcus, pneumococcus, rotavirus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever.²

Targeted investment, not blanket solution

Local manufacturing is one route to improving vaccine access, but not the right solution for every product

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Targeted investment, not blanket solution

Local manufacturing is one route to improving vaccine access, but not the right solution for every product. Some vaccines are reliably supplied through established global supply chains and pooled procurement. Attempting to replicate that capacity locally would not automatically lead to better access and health outcomes.

Meaningful access gains can come from a targeted strategy focused on vaccines that are well suited for production in Africa, based on disease burden, target population, manufacturing feasibility, demand volume, commercial viability, vaccination regime and vaccine archetype – and one that builds on manufacturing capacity across the continent, rather than concentrating the production in a small number of manufacturers.[2]

Delivering this strategy requires regional and continental coordination, public and private sector alignment and investment allocated to reflect the continent’s public health needs and manufacturing potential.

African manufacturing capacity remains limited. Most African vaccine manufacturers (AVMs) with commercial facilities operate at the fill-and-finish stage – importing the drug substance and handling only final downstream processing and packaging at a local scale. End-to-end production is still rare, with six manufacturers operating at this level, and only two producing vaccines for any of the 10 priority diseases.

Figure 1: Map of African commercial vaccine manufacturers, facilities and capacities

But the continent’s capacity is growing. Investment, regulatory progress and increasing demand guarantees are creating momentum for local manufacturing and a more supportive environment for expansion. As the number of AVMs rises and their capabilities strengthen, they are becoming better positioned to scale up production. Technology transfers contribute to accelerating this progress, supporting the development of fill-and-finish capacity in the near term, with the ultimate goal of expanding end-to-end manufacturing on the continent.

Technology transfers catalysing vaccine manufacturing

Technology transfers can close gaps in manufacturing capacity for Africa’s priority vaccines by enabling local production without requiring manufacturers to develop vaccines from scratch. Many of the priority vaccines are already produced by global manufacturers, creating opportunities for technology transfers to AVMs.

For vaccine innovators, leveraging existing AVM infrastructure for technology transfers offers access to growing vaccine markets while strengthening local manufacturing capacity, fortifying regional supply and improving availability of innovative vaccines.

Figure 2: Commercial manufacturing capacity and technology transfers for priority diseases

Presently, manufacturing vaccines for any of the 10 priority vaccines remains limited on the continent (see Figure 2), despite many suitable vaccines in the portfolio of large research-based companies in the scope of the Access to Medicine Index (the Index). Six companies in the scope of the Index have 31 vaccines in their portfolios targeting one or more of the 10 priority diseases. Of these, only one, a meningococcal vaccine from Sanofi, is currently part of a technology transfer to an AVM.³ Despite this potential, most active technology transfer agreements in Africa have been led by Asian vaccine innovators outside the scope of the Index.

The fastest route to expand local production would be through a fill-and-finish technology transfer, where the capacity is most developed. However, the aim should be for fill-and-finish to be a stepping stone to further expansion into end-to-end manufacturing capabilities.

Recent investments are laying the foundation for end-to-end to expand and attract new technology partnerships. Manufacturers such as Biovac and VaxSen (the commercial subsidiary of Institut Pasteur de Dakar) have secured significant financing from development finance institutions to improve their capabilities and develop large-scale drug substance production.^4-6 This progress creates an opportunity for technology originators to engage in end-to-end technology transfers, helping to de-risk partnerships and support the development of sustainable manufacturing on the continent.

These partnerships are already taking shape at Biovac, which is currently receiving an end-to-end technology transfer of an oral cholera vaccine from the International Vaccine Institute, alongside two fill-and-finish technology transfer partnerships with Sanofi. Following an initial transfer in 2020 (see Box-out), Sanofi expanded the partnership in 2024 to include a second vaccine (for polio) and additional late-stage formulation processes, reinforcing technology transfers as a scalable model for vaccine manufacturing in Africa.⁷

Utilising technology transfers to scale up local vaccine manufacturing:

Biovac’s technology transfer partnerships demonstrate success

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International Vaccine Institute's ongoing end-to-end technology transfer of the oral cholera vaccine to Biovac

Value for Biovac: With support from the Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, this project allows Biovac to establish drug substance manufacturing while building expertise in process optimisation, validation, market shaping, dossier submission and WHO prequalification – key steps for product development and commercialisation.

Value for people: This technology transfer addresses a critical gap, as no other African vaccine manufacturer has end-to-end capability to produce the oral cholera vaccine.

Value for the continent: If successful, the project would establish Biovac as one of the first AVMs to complete an end-to-end technology transfer, demonstrating that African manufacturers can successfully adopt complex technologies when the right conditions are in place.

Sanofi’s fill-and-finish technology transfer of Hexaxim to Biovac

Value for companies: This technology transfer strengthened Biovac’s manufacturing capabilities, including aseptic filling, regulatory filing and Good Manufacturing Practice compliance. These capabilities enabled Sanofi to leverage Biovac as a local manufacturing hub, expanding its regional presence and supporting commercial growth across Southern Africa. In May 2026, Biovac secured a tender for Hexaxim with South Africa’s provincial health departments. The contract demonstrates the mutual commercial value of the partnership, securing three years of revenue for Biovac as the finished-product manufacturer and Sanofi as the supplier of the bulk drug substance.

Value for governments: Compared with administering the pentavalent vaccine and a separate Hepatitis B vaccine, the hexavalent Hexaxim provides a more cost-effective option that also streamlines vaccine administration.[9]

Value for people: The transition from a pentavalent to a hexavalent vaccine strengthened South Africa’s public immunisation programme and addressed an unmet need. Around four million doses are supplied annually to provincial health departments, expanding access to routine childhood immunisation.

The Biovac partnerships illustrate the value that technology transfers can create when the right conditions are in place. The growing momentum around vaccine manufacturing in Africa is helping to strengthen these conditions, making technology transfers more attractive, sustainable and viable.

Capitalising on the momentum

Recent developments are creating a more enabling environment for technology transfers and local vaccine manufacturing. Rising demand, stronger regulatory systems, new procurement mechanisms, growing commitment from global health stakeholders and increased investments from multilateral development banks are helping to reduce the barriers that have historically limited growth in the sector.

Figure 3: What recent progress means and what tools manufacturers can utilise

Regional vaccine manufacturing is an important component of building a more resilient and sustainable supply of innovative vaccines in Africa, especially amid shifts in development aid. The changing investment environment and growing political appetite across the continent, create an opportunity for vaccine innovators, African vaccine manufacturers and other stakeholders across the vaccine ecosystem to coordinate efforts and build on recent progress. This momentum can lead to a stronger vaccine manufacturing capacity on the continent and attract more technology transfers, for fill-and-finish, and, ultimately, end-to-end manufacturing.

* Data in this analysis is sourced from publicly available information; no company consultation was conducted.

_^References

1. Africa CDC. Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) Framework for Action — Africa Health Knowledge Hub. 2022. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://khub.africacdc.org/records/resource/partnerships-for-african-vaccine-manufacturing-pavm-framework-for-action

2. Doua J, Ndembi N, Auerbach J, Kaseya J, Zumla A. Advancing local manufacturing capacities for vaccines within Africa – Opportunities, priorities and challenges. Vaccine. 2025;50:126829. doi:10.1016/J.VACCINE.2025.126829

3. Deux vaccins Sanofi seront produits par Marbio à Benslimane pour répondre aux besoins nationaux - Médias24 - Numéro un de l’information économique marocaine. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://medias24.com/2025/10/30/deux-vaccins-sanofi-seront-produits-au-maroc-pour-repondre-aux-besoins-nationaux/

4. IFC, EIB Group and European Commission back Biovac to build Africa’s first end-to-end multi-vaccine manufacturing site, advancing vaccine self-reliance. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://www.ifc.org/en/pressroom/2026/ifc-eib-group-and-european-commission-back-biovac

5. South Africa: African Development Bank and Biovac sign $15 million agreement to advance Africa’s first end-to-end cholera vaccine production. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/south-africa-african-development-bank-and-biovac-sign-15-million-agreement-advance-africas-first-end-end-cholera-vaccine-production-95738

6. Global Partners Invest $45 Million to Boost African Vaccine Production. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/global-partners-invest-45-million-boost-african-vaccine-production-79715

7. Sanofi and Biovac partner to produce polio vaccines in Africa. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/sanofi-biovac-polio-vaccines-africa/?cf-view

8. Biovac clinches R5.3bn state vaccine contract - Juta MedicalBrief. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/biovac-clinches-r5-3bn-state-vaccine-contract/

9. Mogale M, Burnett RJ, Olivier D, Mphahlele J. Economic assessment of implementing Hexaxim_^® vaccine within the South African Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI-SA). International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2014;21:430. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2014.03.1307

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