Ghana is expected to produce its first locally manufactured vaccine by 2027, with production processes currently underway at Atlantic Lifesciences Limited.

Chief Executive Officer of the National Vaccine Institute (NVI), Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, disclosed this to journalists in Parliament, saying the project was progressing through a partnership involving local scientific institutions, private manufacturers and an Indonesian pharmaceutical company.

He said the initiative was expected to strengthen Ghana’s domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity and reduce its reliance on imported vaccines.

“Ghana is on track to manufacture the first vaccine in 2027, and that is tetanus-diphtheria vaccine,” Dr Sodzi-Tettey said.

He explained that the National Vaccine Institute had assembled a team of experts from Ghana, including officials from the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and private manufacturers, who travelled to Indonesia to facilitate the technology transfer required for local production.

According to him, the team signed a technology transfer agreement and established links between the regulatory authorities of Ghana and Indonesia to support the manufacturing process.

Dr Sodzi-Tettey said the agreement was a critical step towards achieving the country’s vaccine production ambitions, although the associated expenditure might appear in financial records as costs for workshops or meetings.

“If you want to analyse where that falls in a financial statement, it will appear to you as a workshop or as a meeting, but that meeting had been very critical because then it freed up about US$400,000 from the Indonesian government to support the vaccine manufacturing in the country,” he said.

He added that most of the relevant materials had arrived in Ghana, with manufacturing processes now underway at Atlantic Lifesciences Limited.

Partnership drives vaccine production

The CEO said the project was being implemented through a partnership involving the National Vaccine Institute, Atlantic Lifesciences Limited, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and PT Bio Farma of Indonesia.

The collaboration is expected to combine local scientific expertise and manufacturing capacity with technical support from Indonesia to advance Ghana’s efforts to produce vaccines domestically.

Dr Sodzi-Tettey expressed optimism that the partnership would deliver the country’s first locally manufactured tetanus-diphtheria vaccine next year.

“The bulk has arrived in the country; the manufacturing processes are underway at Atlantic Lifesciences. It is a partnership between National Vaccine Institute, Atlantic Lifesciences, Noguchi Memorial Institute and PT Bio Farma of Indonesia, and God willing, next year we should be able to come up with a vaccine,” he said.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts to establish a sustainable vaccine manufacturing ecosystem in Ghana, including developing technical expertise, strengthening regulatory capacity and building local production capabilities.

Beyond the tetanus-diphtheria vaccine project, Dr Sodzi-Tettey said the National Vaccine Institute had other plans for seed funding pledged by President John Dramani Mahama.

The planned investments are expected to complement ongoing work with local and international partners as the country seeks to strengthen its position in vaccine research and production.

If the current timeline is achieved, the production of a locally manufactured tetanus-diphtheria vaccine by 2027 would mark a significant milestone in Ghana’s efforts to develop domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity.