04 Aug 2021

Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI) is positioning itself to venture into production of human medicines, to ease the country’s over-reliance on imports, BVI general manager, Mr Andrew Madeswi has said.

Mr Madeswi who was talking to BOPA said the current COVID-19 situation was an important lesson in self-reliance.

“With reference to the current pandemic, countries that are producing vaccines for COVID-19 decisively prioritise their citizens in terms of first access to vaccination. This situation cannot repeat itself in the future and as BVI we take it upon ourselves to become self-reliant and optimally use what we have towards producing human health-related medicines,” he said.

The institute boasts world class machinery and expertise gained over the years and in partnership with France’s MERIAL/BI, which has since become a part of Boehringer Ingelheim.

“We will not reinvent the wheel but, rather carry-on actions necessary to drive operational diversity and excellence,” he said.

Mr Madeswi explained that currently, government spent huge amounts of money towards procurement of Anti Retroviral (ARV) drugs for HIV/AIDS patients and a far worse burden now came with soliciting vaccines for COVID-19.

“Given current situation, BVI remains instrumental in diversifying human health medicines,” he said and gave an example of South Africa which managed to produce human medicines because of their partnership with the world’s leading medicine producers.

Mr Madeswi said in seeking to diversify its product base and venturing into human-health medicine production, BVI was aligning its mandate with President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi's reset agenda.

He noted one of the underlying pillars to the agenda was building capacity and infrastructure for vaccine production, hence the institution's continued efforts to align processes and strategic plans to the agenda.

Broadening BVI product base will not be a walk in the park, but is achievable.

 "Diversification into human health-related medicines is not an easy-go agenda, but building resilience and thoroughly investing in the institution's research and development department will see us through."

With its Good Manufacturing Practices, a critical measure whereby BVI ensures quality of standard and processes, the institute can hope to match international standards for human vaccine production.

“It’s not easy to live up to the standard, however, our team has over the years managed to satisfy the requirements of the certification,” Mr Madeswi said.

Mr Madeswi underscored the importance of innovative research in product diversification and said it was key in driving long-term growth and sustainability for the company and the country’s economy.

With reference to the food sector, Mr Madeswi noted the budding hatchery plant in the Boteti region provided an opportunity for BVI to look further into developing vaccines for the chicken industry saying Newcastle disease was a problem that would ultimately need a domestic solution.

He said the envisaged developments tapped into the value chain presented by the institute that potential entrepreneurs could acquaint themselves with to earn a living.

Giving a background of the institute, he said BVI was initially established for the production of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines.

However, in recognition of its adherence to international quality control standards, the World Orgainsation for Animal Health known as OIE, designated the institute a  Regional Reference Laboratory for FMD in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1985.

Mr Madeswi said the institute had retained the status to date, which gave BVI confidence that it was capable of diversifying its product base and market.

Talking about the organisation's achievements, Mr Madeswi said BVI recorded cumulative sales revenue of P156.6 million compared to P83 million for 2017.

He said the performance was attributable to the ability to fulfill set goals, work closely with customers and provision of relevant technical advice and adding value to products and services.

He said the institute would soon launch its new strategy which incorporating most of the current strategic intentions. Ends