In public health we often say that diseases don't respect borders – a threat to health anywhere is a threat to health everywhere. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that countries worldwide need the manufacturing infrastructure, capability and workforce to manufacture vaccines.
In that regard, helping other countries establish their own capabilities to produce vaccines helps the entire world combat health threats. That's why our experts in the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) work with governments around the world to help countries establish manufacturing capability, including training on current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) to produce vaccines in their home countries. The most recent example is in the Republic of South Africa.
According to the U.S. Department of State, developing sustainable vaccine manufacturing capabilities is a priority for the Republic of South Africa. Vaccine manufacturing companies have identified a shortage of individuals with manufacturing experience as a major challenge to making vaccines in-country; this need led the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) to collaborate with BARDA's Division of Pharmaceuticals Countermeasure Infrastructure (PCI) on a cGMP train-the-trainers program. With BARDA's participation and support, this training will begin in July 2022, much sooner than the previous timeline of late 2022 or early 2023.
Candidates for this first cGMP training class will be selected from with historically disadvantaged universities in the Republic of South Africa. Once this cohort of professionals from South Africa completes their training, they will establish their own program in South Africa to train other professionals from across their country and in other countries on the African continent through the SAMRC.
The BARDA team leveraged a cGMP training program at the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), established under BARDA's contract for the Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing with TAMUS. The BARDA team also worked with the White House, the National Security Council, the State Department, and other partners to push the timeline forward for this program.
This cGMP training effort aligns with Goal 3 of
BARDA's 2022-2026 Strategic Plan to fortify the nation's health security with our partners, stakeholders, and workforce. Along with fostering flexible partnerships, these efforts aim to increase partner diversity and identify ways to promote long-term sustainability of supported medical countermeasures. With the new knowledge and experience our South African colleagues will gain, entire nations may be able to develop a new capability that will help bring infectious disease threats under control more quickly, which in turn, protects health and save lives at home and abroad. We're honored to be making a positive global impact.