BioNTech And CEPI Expand Strategic Partnership To Boost African Vaccine Ecosystem
(RTTNews) - BioNTech SE (BNTX) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations or CEPI, announced Wednesday they are expanding their strategic partnership to contribute to building a sustainable and resilient end-to-end African vaccine ecosystem.
CEPI is committing up to $145 million to support BioNTech to establish mRNA vaccine R&D, clinical and commercial-scale manufacturing capabilities at the Company's facility in Kigali, Rwanda. These capabilities will contribute to efforts to better prepare for potential future epidemic and pandemic threats in Africa.
BioNTech and CEPI first announced their strategic partnership in September 2023. BioNTech's commercial-scale manufacturing facility in Kigali was first announced in 2021 and inaugurated in December 2023. The facility could become the first commercial mRNA facility in Africa.
It is intended to support the African Union's and Africa CDC's goal of producing 60 percent of total vaccine doses required on the continent by 2040.
BioNTech and CEPI are committed to enabling equitable access. Under the terms of the agreement BioNTech intends to provide affordable access to BioNTech's prophylactic vaccines manufactured at the Kigali facility, such as vaccines against malaria, mpox and tuberculosis, to low and middle-income countries, with priority supply to African countries, if successfully developed and authorized.
BioNTech and CEPI intend to work jointly to rapidly respond to outbreaks on the African continent caused by known viral threats, or an as-yet-unknown pathogen with epidemic or pandemic potential.
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