Aspen to receive R523 million from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Globally recognised pharmaceutical company Aspen will receive $30 million from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

The JSE-listed pharmaceutical company will receive (R523 million) from the two funders to help manufacture routine and outbreak vaccines for Africa.

It is reported that the $15 million each from CEPI and the Gates Foundation is also expected to support a 10-year agreement between Aspen and Serum Institute.

Aspen is the biggest medicine producer on the African continent, and the partnership with India’s Serum Institute aims to expand the supply and sourcing of vaccines manufactured in Africa.

“We thank both CEPI and the Gates Foundation for their commitment to support regional manufacture for Africa. Their commitment, together with our partnership with Serum, is an important first step in ensuring expanded and enduring equitable access to a pipeline of medicines and vaccines manufactured in Africa for Africans,” Aspen CEO Stephen Saad said in a statement on Monday.

“Aspen has a proven capability of being at the forefront of pandemic preparedness for the continent – from ARVs to Covid vaccines. This support will ensure we can continue to invest and expand our capacities, secure in the knowledge of future offtakes.”

Back in March this year, Aspen agreed with Johnson & Johnson to manufacture and sell an Aspen-branded Covid-19 vaccine, Aspenovax, throughout Africa.

Additionally, Aspen also packaged and filled vials of the US company’s vaccine at its plant in Gqeberha.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said expanding the availability of affordable, high-quality vaccines “is one of the best ways to improve health outcomes and reduce preventable deaths”.

“We’re very pleased to support this agreement between Aspen and Serum Institute, which has the potential to expand vaccine production and supply in Africa, increase vaccination rates, improve pandemic preparedness, and broadly strengthen global health security,” he said per News24.

Aspen will manufacture and distribute four routine vaccines in Africa — Pneumococcal, Rotavirus, Polyvalent Meningococcal, and Hexavalent.

Meanwhile, BusinessTech Africa has learned that the company’s share price was up 1.5% on Monday morning.