BioNtech ready to ship first mRNA vaccine factory kit to Africa

Dec. 22, 2022

Germany’s BioNTech said on Wednesday it has completed construction of its first vaccine factory made from shipping containers called ‘BioNtrainer’ being sent to Africa.

The COVID-19 vaccine maker said the BioNtrainer is expected to arrive in Kigali, Rwanda in the first quarter of 2023.

In February, the company planned to develop a vaccine factory using shipping containers and send it to Africa as assembly kits to ease what the World Health Organization has described as huge disparities in global COVID-19 vaccine access.

BioNtech said the facility at Kigali will house the first BioNtrainer, which is expected to become part of a wider supply network spanning several African nations that will have access to the mRNA-based vaccine.

REUTERS