Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (M) hearing a briefing from senior officials of pharmaceutical company BioGeneric Pharma during a tour inside the factory after its's inauguration on Saturday 28 January, 2023. Photo courtesy of Egyptian cabinet Facebook page.
BioGeneric Pharma was chosen by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in February last year to receive the technology to produce mRNA vaccines, therapeutic proteins, and immunoglobulins for treating cancer, a Cabinet statement quoted Mohamed Rabie, the company’s CEO, as saying during the inauguration.
The company is set to become a hub for mRNA technology for Africa and low- and middle-income countries, Rabie added.
The company is preparing to receive a delegation from the African Union (AU) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in February to discuss cooperation opportunities regarding the export of vaccines and serums to African markets.
BioGeneric Pharma aims to achieve self-sufficiency in serums, vaccines, and biologics to reduce reliance on imported products and expand exports to African and international markets, the Cabinet said.
This would help increase Egyptian exports in this field after obtaining the necessary global export licenses in order to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Egypt's Vision 2030, the Cabinet added.
The BioGeneric Pharma factory lies over an area of 20,000 square metres with a possibility for expansion in the future. The factory consists for three main units for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and automatic packaging, Rabie said.
The API production units are equipped with single-use bioreactors with a capacity of up to 2,000 liters, he explained.
In February 2022, World Health Organisation General Director Tedros Adhanom announced that Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia will receive vaccine manufacturing support from the WHO’s mRNA technology transfer hub.
The African countries will obtain the technology with help from the EU, Germany, Canada, France, Norway and Belgium, Adhanom said during an event hosted in Brussels at the EU-AU Summit.
Adhanom praised the progress achieved by BioGeneric Pharma and its potentials, which qualify the company to be among the top global companies in this field, the Cabinet said today.
A high-level delegation from the WHO paid a visit to the factory, where they affirmed that BioGeneric Pharma is able to produce high-quality and safe vaccines and become the first Egyptian company to obtain the WHO prequalification, the Cabinet added.
The WHO-affiliated technology transfer project aims to help low- and middle-income countries manufacture mRNA vaccines at scale and according to international standards.
The WHO mRNA technology transfer hub was established in 2021 primarily to address the COVID-19 emergency.
To avoid serious consequences, mRNA vaccines help bodies produce a protein that triggers an immune response, unlike other vaccines that work by introducing a weakened or inactivated germ into the body.
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