Kenya's Vaccine Manufacturing Vision: Forging Partnerships with South Korea's Leading Biotech

Seoul, South Korea  - On Tuesday, 25th July 2023, the Kenya delegation, led by Health Cabinet Secretary Nakhumicha S. Wafula, visited South Korea's Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), as well as the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), SK Bioscience, and SD Bioneer.

 

During the visit, CS Nakhumicha emphasized the importance of engaging with SK Bioscience for potential collaborations on vaccine manufacturing. Kenya aims to become the regional hub for specialized health products and technologies, particularly vaccines for childhood, adolescent girls, and maternal immunization.

 

The East African Community countries present a significant market size of over 150 million doses annually for essential childhood, adolescent girls, and maternal vaccines. Additionally, with a rising birth-rate of over 2.3% per annum, the demand for vaccines is expected to increase.

 

To meet this demand, Kenya is actively working to establish the capacity for 'Fill-and-Finish' production of human vaccines at the Kenya BioVax Institute. Resources are being mobilized to develop the required human resources capacity, learning, development, and technology transfer in bio-manufacturing.

 

The CS who is accompanied by the principal secretary of the state department of medical services Harry Kimtai stressed that strategic partnerships and collaborations in technology transfer with reputable global manufacturers like SK Bioscience will accelerate the efforts at BioVax and enhance Kenya's vaccine production capabilities.