mRNA 3rd Scientific Colloquium on vaccine access and equity on the African Continent
27 November 2023
On Monday 27 November in Capetown, South Africa at Afrigen, the 3rd Scientific Colloquium dived into the current thinking and how scientific innovation in the field of mRNA vaccines would lead to game changing access in the next few years on the African continent.
With the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme now advancing and on track to deliver, the session took a holistic look at the current mRNA vaccine landscape and how through the different initiatives the face and pace of mRNA vaccine delivery would impact equitable access in low- and middle-income countries.
A keynote address from Professor Sarah Gilbert (OBE) from the Nuffield Department of Medicines at Oxford University provided her vision on how vaccine innovation would transform equitable access. Further presentation from Moderna, BioNTech and Afrigen provided scientific insight on antigen design and the pipeline and access for Africa.
Welcome Address
- Prof Petro Terblanche, CEO, Afrigen Biologics
- Prof Drew Weissman, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania
Keynote Address
- Prof Sarah Gilbert, Nuffield Department of Medicines, Oxford University > “Assessing Impact of access to mRNA vaccines in LMICs”
Presentations
- Dr Andrea Carfi, Head of Infectious Diseases Research and Galit Alter, Head of Immunology, Moderna
- Dr Robbert van der Most, Vice President Translational Science, BioNtech
- Dr Amin Khan, Chief Science Advisor, Afrigen Biologics
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Charles Gore, Executive Director, Medicines Patent Pool
- Sarah Gilbert, Oxford University
- Andrea Carfi, Moderna
- Robbert van der Most, BioNTech
- Martin Friede, World Health Organization
- Caryn Fenner, Afrigen
Closing remarks
- Charles Gore, Executive Director, Medicines Patent Pool
Click Below to Access the Presentations:
Welcome Message
Prof Drew Weissman, University of Pennsylvania
Assessing Impact of Access to mRNA Vaccines in LMICs
Sarah Gilbert, University of Oxford
The Application of Moderna’s mRNA Platform for Public Health
Andrea Carfi, Moderna
Development of mRNA-based medicines
Robbert van der Most, BioNTech
The mRNA Innovation Strategy at Afrigen
Amin Khan, Caryn Fenner and Petro Terblanche, Afrigen