In South Africa, a new initiative aims to advance the local development of vaccines and other immunotherapies.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) are partnering with US multinational NantWorks to transfer biologic manufacturing technology for COVID-19 and cancer vaccines and next-generation cell-based immunotherapies’. The South African government says the initiative is expected to enable ‘the rapid clinical development of next-generation vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer at centres of excellence across the country’.

NantWorks founder Patrick Soon-Shiong says the unmet need to treat life-threatening infectious diseases such as Aids, TB and COVID-19, as well as the poor survival rate across Africa, is very concerning.

‘The astounding advances in science have enabled new paradigms of care involving activating the immune system and changing outcomes for these diseases. We are privileged to have the opportunity to bring 30 years of clinical, scientific and advanced biological know-how to the country and establish much-needed capacity and self-sufficiency.’

NantAfrica, a division of NantWorks, will co-ordinate the project, while the CSIR will provide the biologics-manufacturing capacity over the next three months. The work will be carried out at the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation – a collaboration between the SAMRC and universities of Stellenbosch and KwaZulu-Natal.

5 October 2021
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