Aspen Pharmacare, an African pharmaceutical company, is currently in discussions with partners to produce mpox vaccines at its sites, according to Chief Executive Officer Stephen Saad.
“We are in talks with various partners,” without specifying the companies involved. “We have both the capacity and capability to manufacture the mpox vaccine, and we are confident in our ability to produce the product,” Saad said in an interview with Reuters
The continent is facing pressure to control an outbreak of the potentially lethal infection. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency in mid-August when a new strain began spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.
Last month, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 13 African countries had documented over 22,800 mpox cases and 622 deaths this year.
Saad outlined two preconditions to prevent Aspen from having unused capacity, similar to what occurred with the production of COVID-19 vaccines for which there was no demand.
“The first condition is that we need a commitment to specific volumes without exceptions. We cannot accept assurances of a billion orders only to have nothing materialise,” he emphasised.
“The second aspect is that there are costs associated with transferring these products to our facility, and we will proceed with the transfer if someone covers the expenses for the technology transfer,” he added.
Mpox is typically transmitted through close contact and, while usually mild, can be fatal in rare instances. It presents with flu-like symptoms and the development of pus-filled lesions on the body.