Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) director-general Dr Phil Mjwara on Friday explained that consideration is being given to conducting some phases of clinical development in South Africa as part of a potential technology transfer approach with US company Kentucky Bioprocessing (KBP).

He was speaking during a webinar organised by the Government Communication and Information System, the National Press Club and the DSI, to discuss the role of scientific research in mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mjwara said this approach was necessary given the strain variation that could impact the efficacy of some of the current vaccines.

“The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) would like to transfer plant-made vaccine technology from Kentucky Bioprocessing, and continue to explore the possibility of localising vaccine technology from KBP,” he explained.

The KBP technical team will be engaging with the clinical trial expert committee of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to explore possible strategies on the basis of the KBP vaccine and its properties, and the efficacy or clinical trial data accumulated to date.

Through new capabilities and a facility, other high value biotechnology drugs could be developed, especially for other infectious diseases, cancer and other chronic diseases.

Mjwara said the vision was that the facility, if established, should be able to supply vaccines and medicines to sub-Saharan Africa.

Building Capacity for Future Pandemics

The DSI is currently considering support for a One Health National Vaccine Prototype Platform that harnesses national expertise in developing vaccine prototypes for humans and animals.

A consortium has been developed between five institutions and includes pilot scale manufacturing, including an African Traditional Medicine platform, in which indigenous knowledge and the knowledge holders are assisted in the development of mainstream therapeutics.

Mjwara explained that science plays a crucial role in mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that the announcement of the SARS-CoV-2 variant was as a result of a network for genomic surveillance outcomes.

The department looked at 2 800 SARS-CoV-2 whole genomes from South Africa, produced to date, and this information was used to understand how the epidemic started in South Africa. Four outbreak investigations in large hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, the North West province and one in a Western Cape supermarket were completed.

Meanwhile, the DSI coordinated a package of responses across the National System of Innovation to address South Africa’s readiness for the impact of Covid-19, where they had to pull together investments that were made in models for predicting the spread of the Covid-19 virus.