• Promote R&D regional collaboration to advance mRNA product development around diseases of regional importance.
  • New discoveries to help design second-generation mRNA products.
  • Review intellectual property issues and regulatory aspects of regional importance.

On 31 October and 1st November, the research and development mRNA Programme network will meet in Bangkok, Kingdom of Thailand, to look forward at sustainability and the pipeline of potential vaccines and next generation technologies as the first of a series of Regional meetings which will continue throughout 2024. Programme partners such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Viet Nam will be offered the opportunity to share know-how with convened universities and medical research centers from Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and the Philippines to enhance sustainable mRNA vaccine manufacturing capacity in the region.

During a meeting to exchange on the progress in the production of mRNA vaccines on Friday 27 October 2023, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “mRNA technology is a powerful new tool, but each country by itself cannot establish and sustain this technology alone.”

To date, almost all 15 Programme partners received the introduction training at the Centre for technology transfer Afrigen in Cape Town, South Africa in 2022 or 2023 for developing the mRNA plaform at country level. New initiatives to analyse partners’ strengths and gaps are also underway and will help each biomanufacturing partners to sustain, expand and acquire the capabilities they need.

“Expanding local production, and strengthening local regulatory capacity, are essential for reducing health inequities between and within countries.

This will not only help us prepare for the pandemics of tomorrow, but to treat the diseases of today. ” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

During the two-day meeting, participants will share progress and discuss critical enablers for sustainability of the Programme such as intellectual property issues and regulatory aspects, as well as the science of mRNA technologies and key applications relevant to LMICs in other disease areas such as dengue, HFMD, malaria vivax.

As the Regional meetings will be focusing on scientific developments on mRNA vaccines technology for priority diseases, the success of the mRNA Programme relies on the current and future collaboration between biomanufacturing partners from the 15 Programme countries, leading experts, industry, civil society representatives and funders.

Announced on 21 June 2021, WHO and the Medicines Patent Pool established a Technology Transfer Programme for mRNA vaccines in South Africa, in order to build manufacturing capacity in LMICs to produce mRNA vaccines, in an effort to improve health security in LMICs through local and/or regional production of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, as a primary target.

The mRNA Technology Transfer Programme has four main objectives:

  1. Establish or enhance sustainable mRNA vaccine manufacturing capacity in regions with no

or limited capacity;

  1. Introduce new technologies in LMICs and promote regional research and development (R&D);
  2. Strengthen regional biomanufacturing know-how and workforce development;
  3. Develop regulatory capabilities and workforce to support and accelerate regional approval and distribution of mRNA vaccines;

The center for mRNA technology development and transfer comprises Afrigen/Biovac/South African Medical Research Council, South Africa, and will share technology and technical know-how with a network of technology recipients in LMICs. The funders play a crucial role in supporting the Programme with total funding to date at $117 million to fund the mRNA technology transfer work. The Programme currently receives funding from France, Canada, European Commission, the African Union, Germany, as well as South Africa, Norway, Belgium and the ELMA foundation.

 

Meeting agenda           List of participants

 

Media Enquiries

Medicines Patent Pool enquiries:

Olivier Uzel +41 79 708 96 42 (Geneva) press@medicinespatentpool.org

World Health Organization enquiries:

Sarah Sheppard  +41 79 516 47 56