8 March 2021 - Wits University
The Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit via Wits Enterprise has partnered with Biovac to develop the skills capacity to produce viral vectored vaccines in SA.
Demonstrating that South Africa has the capability and the skills resources to tackle serious health problems, Wits University’s Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit (AGTRU), with Wits Commercial Enterprise acting on its behalf, partnered with Cape Town based bio-pharmaceutical company, Biovac, in a partnership announced on 2 March 2021.
Wits Enterprise is a private company wholly owned by Wits University and mandated to promote and commercialise Wits’ intellectual capital, research and innovations, so as to broaden and deepen the University s societal impact.
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The University of the Witwatersrand s Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit will assist with building specialist skills capacity within Biovac to generate engineered viruses that may be used as Covid-19 and other vaccines.
According to Biovac, South Africa desperately needs to build capability to manufacture viral vaccines from scratch rather than importing the active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Viral vector-based vaccines are different from most conventional vaccines as they use the body s cells to produce antigens.
The University of the Witwatersrand s Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit has partnered with partly state-owned bio-pharmaceutical company Biovac to develop skills capacity to produce viral vectored vaccines.