mRNA Vaccine Technology and R&D Sovereignty: Africa's Path Beyond Fill-and-Finish
Key Insights
Africa currently manufactures less than 1% of vaccines administered on the continent, with the African Union and Africa CDC (search) targeting 60% local production by 2040.
Researchers and policymakers argue that vaccine sovereignty must extend beyond manufacturing to encompass R&D, clinical trials, regulatory capacity, and intellectual property ownership.
Wits University (search) scientists highlight mRNA technology's strategic importance, including the development of ionisable lipids from cashew nut shell waste as African-owned intellectual property.
Long before a vaccine enters production, much of its scientific groundwork has already been laid. Researchers have identified the pathogen, selected the part most likely to trigger a protective immune response, chosen a technology platform, designed early laboratory studies, planned clinical trials and begun preparing the evidence regulators will require. For Africa, the question is no longer only whether the continent can fill more vials, but whether African institutions can help shape the science that comes before manufacturing begins.
That broader view of vaccine sovereignty was a recurring theme at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations' (CEPI) Global Vaccine Manufacturing Summit in London in June 2026, and is echoed in new research from Wits University (search) published in Communications Medicine.
The 60% target and the limits of fill-and-finish
During the COVID-19 (search) pandemic, African countries were forced to depend heavily on imported vaccines. In response, the African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC (search)) set a target for Africa to produce 60% of the vaccines for Africa's routine immunisation needs by 2040, compared with fewer than 1% currently administered on the continent.
Yet a 2023 analysis found that if all planned manufacturing projects are realised, Africa's form, fill and finish capacity could more than double the continent's projected African vaccine demand by 2030. Production of vaccine antigens, the active biological component, would remain well below regional targets, leaving manufacturers heavily dependent on technology transfers from outside the continent.
Richard Hatchett, CEPI's chief executive, argued at the London summit that rapid vaccine development depends on technologies that support rapid responses, together with coordination, trusted partnerships and sustainable financing. "Vaccine platforms can only deliver results when the systems supporting them are equally prepared," he said.
Nigeria's rebuilding effort illustrates the challenge
Nigeria once produced yellow fever vaccines but lost that capacity after decades of underinvestment in infrastructure and research, according to Abdu Mukhtar, who leads Nigeria's Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain. The country now produces no vaccines.
"A vaccine is not something that you start producing tomorrow," Mukhtar said.
Nigeria is now investing in the foundations needed for future production, including research and development, workforce training, clinical trial infrastructure, technology-transfer pathways and an mRNA research platform intended to strengthen preparedness for future epidemics. Three vaccine manufacturing projects are in development, while the Empower Academy aims to equip graduates in pharmacy, medicine and engineering with practical manufacturing skills.
Mukhtar argued that clinical trials are equally important. Building a sustainable life-sciences manufacturing sector requires trained investigators, clinical research organisations, academic institutions and robust clinical trial infrastructure. Vaccine sovereignty therefore depends as much on where candidates are tested and evidence is generated, as on where they are manufactured.
mRNA technology as a strategic priority
Scientists at the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit (AGTRU) and the Synthetic Organic Chemistry Group at Wits University (search) have identified barriers that must be overcome before a sustainable, end-to-end production ecosystem can be established. Their investigations, published in Communications Medicine, hone in on the strategic importance of mRNA vaccine technologies in building greater public health independence across Africa.
"One of mRNA's greatest advantages is its speed. It can be used to identify and test promising vaccine targets relatively quickly, generating knowledge that can then support the development of vaccines using other platforms," said Dr Kristie Bloom, senior researcher at the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit.
The researchers caution that mRNA vaccines are not a panacea and will need to form part of a broader vaccine-development ecosystem that includes recombinant viral vaccines, protein subunit vaccines and other established and emerging technologies.
From cashew waste to African-owned intellectual property
One example of African-led innovation highlighted in the Wits paper is the development of vaccine-delivery compounds from cashew nut shell liquid. Cashew nut shells are widely available in Africa and are generally treated as agricultural waste. Wits scientists have used compounds extracted from this waste material to develop ionisable lipids, which are essential components of the lipid nanoparticles that protect mRNA and deliver it into cells.
The lipids have performed efficiently in preclinical vaccine formulations and are cheaper to produce than some currently licensed alternatives. They could also help African vaccine manufacturers reduce their reliance on technologies controlled by a small number of international patent holders.
"By turning an abundant waste material into potentially valuable African-owned intellectual property, the research illustrates why vaccine independence must involve mastery and ownership of the underlying science, rather than simply operating imported manufacturing systems," said Patrick Arbuthnot, Emeritus Professor at the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit.
Building on the WHO mRNA Technology Transfer Programme
The World Health Organization and Medicines Patent Pool (search) established the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme following the success of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 (search) pandemic. Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines (search) in Cape Town was selected as the programme's central hub, with knowledge and technology transferred to manufacturing partners through a hub-and-spoke model.
During the early stages of the programme, the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit adapted its expertise in therapeutic mRNA for vaccine production and transferred this knowledge to Afrigen. The paper argues that the next phase must focus on sustaining these gains through continued investment, building African-owned intellectual property, appropriate regulatory capacity, government procurement and functioning markets for locally produced vaccines.
"Facilities, scientific teams and manufacturing systems cannot survive indefinitely without viable products and reliable demand," said Professor Charles de Koning, Director of the Synthetic Organic Chemistry Group.
Regulation moving upstream
Delese Mimi Darko, director general of the African Medicines Agency (search) (AMA), said the agency is strengthening national regulatory authorities while establishing a Regulatory Innovation and Markets Readiness Office, where vaccine developers will be able to seek early scientific advice and engage regulators across the continent.
"We all want the product to reach the patient quickly. So, start with the regulator," Darko said.
Early engagement gives regulators time to understand new technologies before applications are submitted, rather than evaluating unfamiliar platforms only after development is complete.
AI and the future of vaccine development
CEPI's Pandemic Preparedness Engine is being developed as an AI-assisted platform for vaccine developers, drawing together information from pathogen surveillance, protein-structure prediction, preclinical studies, manufacturing and clinical research.
Timothy Endy, who leads CEPI's work on AI and vaccine development, said one focus is improving vaccine design by using AI to stabilise viral proteins, strengthen immune responses, reduce safety risks and lower manufacturing costs. He described the system as a "scientific assistant" capable of helping developers review evidence, design clinical trials and prepare regulatory documentation.
Endy said CEPI is exploring federated learning, in which AI models learn from protected datasets without requiring those data to be centrally shared. He also stressed that AI will not replace established safeguards: animal studies, toxicology, phased clinical trials and post-marketing safety monitoring will all remain essential.
Throughout the London summit, speakers returned to the message that manufacturing alone cannot deliver vaccine sovereignty. Research, clinical trials, regulation, data systems and scientific partnerships all determine how quickly vaccine candidates move from discovery to deployment. For Africa, mRNA vaccines offer a way to respond to the next pandemic and, most notably, an opportunity to deepen scientific expertise, create locally owned technology and strengthen the continent's ability to protect the health of its people.