Siemens South Africa, Aspen Pharmacare Holdings subsidiary Aspen SA Operations and private sector development financier Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) have entered into an agreement to enable the use of digital technologies to enhance the efficiency of Covid vaccine production in Africa, through Aspen’s Gqeberha-based manufacturing facility in the Eastern Cape.
The project is aimed at strengthening the global competitiveness of the South African pharmaceutical industry and improving the continent’s resilience against other diseases and future pandemics.
Against this background, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has commissioned DEG to finance the establishment of home-grown vaccine manufacturing capacities.
Aspen is in the process of licensing the rights for the first African Covid vaccines, which it will launch as Aspenovax early in the second quarter.
Aspenovax will provide Africa its own Covid vaccine, produced on the African continent by Aspen for African patients.
The capacities will include a suite of Siemens digital technologies aimed at enhancing the current manufacturing processes at Aspen and providing enhanced production execution, energy efficiency, product tracking, central management of the entire production network and introducing additional energy monitoring devices, flow instruments and temperature sensors.
A key aspect of this project will also include training and development of skills for the effective maintenance of Aspen’s production facility in Gqeberha.