5th BIO Africa Annual Convention

The 5th annual BIO Africa 2022 convention took place at Durban International Convention Centre in KwaZulu-Natal from 29-30 August, bringing together under one roof local and global business executives, entrepreneurs, researchers, regulatory authorities and policymakers.  The theme for the convention was: “Africa resilient: Life sciences innovation for achieving health and food security”. The event is organised every year under the auspices of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). 

In his opening remarks Dr Phil Mjwara, DSI Director-General, said the convention was taking place at an opportune moment after local scientists were requested to provide science-based advice to the government about how the Covid-19 pandemic was evolving. He said the aim of the convention was to “take stock of where biotechnology based applications are, how is the knowledge progressing and where to from here”.  

Appropriate theme

Mjwara added that the convention is vital as it provides a platform where South Africa, the African continent and global partners get to appreciate the significance of investing in biotechnology science. He said science institutions are also called upon to assist in manufacturing vaccines and diagnostics for pandemics such as Covid-19 and HIV. 

Speakers underscored the significance of prioritising and investing in biotechnology. They pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic has not only exposed the vulnerabilities and weakness of the African health systems, but it also emphasised the need to tap into and strengthen the existing local expertise within the science community and to manufacture vaccines. 

Locally conceptualised start-ups

Dr Nhlanhla Msomi, President of AfricaBio,  said African biotech conventions were conceptualised about 20 years ago in Chicago. He said they felt the need to replicate a similar model in Africa where local scientists and Africans from the diaspora could interact on how to promote biotechnology. He said he was excited to see the number of start-ups, run mostly by students, and that this augurs well for the future.  Msomi said AfricaBio will use the convention to leverage and deepen its partnership with organisations such as the International Centre Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) to drive biotechnology innovation from the bottom up. 

Searching for answers

In her address Dr Michelle McMurry-Heath, President and Chief Executive Officer of Biotechnology Innovation Organisation, said the world needs answers to the myriad of problems it currently faces: “It is the threat of infectious diseases, increasing chronic diseases and illnesses that continue to plague the world, and food insecurity that leads to great hunger. Climate change is the leading reason for many of these life-threatening and culture threatening crises, which are man-made, and so we must turn to man- and women-driven solutions, and those solutions are rooted in biotechnology.” 

She hailed the thriving biotechnology industry in South Africa and on the African continent, adding that the former has been a leader in detecting some of the variants of the Covid-19 pandemic. Afrigen and Biovac voluntarily led the way in partnership around mRNA hubs and increased vaccine manufacturing when needed, McMurry added.

Three components of biotechnology 

McMurry-Heath said the growth of biotechnology requires three key elements:

• Seeking inclusive and diverse partnerships to develop new bright ideas;

• Ensuring efficient regulatory regimes and strong intellectual property; and

• Not being shy about advocating for science.

Africa is on its own

“When Africa comes together a lot of good things happen,” said Dr Ahmed Ouma, Director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , in his address of the convention. He said the theme of the event is fitting, as each participant has a role to play in making Africa resilient. Ouma said when Africa faces a big crisis it is on its own, no one comes to its rescue, so the continent should learn that if it doesn’t find ways of collaborating it would remain on its own. He said Africa’s health programmes should be aligned with AU’s Agenda 2063 — the continent’s blueprint for transforming Africa into a global powerhouse. He said the continent’s vision is captured in the New Public Health Order, which is anchored on these five pillars:

• Strengthen African institutions at regional, provincial and continental levels;

• Strengthen the workforce that addresses public health;

• Expand local production of our own processes from beginning to the end;

• Urgently increase domestic capacity and resources; and

• Action-oriented partnerships that respect African priorities.

Ouma said Africa needs to innovate to ensure it stops importing 99% of human vaccines, adding that the CDC has set itself a target of manufacturing 60% of human vaccines by 2040.

African Medicines Agency

Margaret Ndomondo Sigonda, Head of the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation Initiative, shared the key objectives of the African Medicines Agency, which is part of the  African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD). She said the agency is charged to coordinate the implementation of priority regional and continental projects geared at promoting integration, strengthening the capacity of AU member states and regional bodies. This entails the implementation of the AU’s Agenda 2063, monitoring and evaluation and also serving as a platform for the continent’s technical interface with other key role players.

Parallel discussion sessions

Participants broke into parallel streams to address specific core themes of the convention’s agenda. These included, among others: healthcare innovations in the age of pandemics; strategic capital mobilisation and market access; food security; indigenous knowledge-based innovations; entrepreneurship and start-ups and university spin-offs; and licensing and technology transfer.

Celebrating Women’s Month

To celebrate Women’s Month, the convention dedicated one of its sessions to discussing the role of women during the Covid-19 pandemic. The theme of the conversation was: “An Africa-centric dialogue on product development partnership”. Dr Lwazi Manzi, Head of Secretariat of the African Union Commission on Covid-19, moderated the discussion.  She said the theme “was chosen in response to the global push for local manufacturing of critical health products such as diagnostic vaccines and therapeutics”. She noted: “There are still various elements that we need to dismantle in order to realise our goal of producing our own biotechnologies in our continent.”