As monkeypox took hold in the West, it was revealed that Bavarian Nordic, the sole producer of the vaccine, had cut a deal to sell nearly all of the available doses to the US. This was an attempt to build a stockpile in case of a mass outbreak of smallpox. As yet, not a single dose has reached Africa, although the continent has had multiple monkeypox outbreaks in the last two decades. Campaigners have called on Bavarian Nordic to waive the intellectual property rights to the vaccine, so production can be scaled up and the outbreaks tackled.
So far, these pleas have been met with silence. But new, more co-operative ways of making medicines are emerging. A fast-developing mRNA ‘Technology Transfer Hub’ in Cape Town is seeking to develop and produce mRNA Covid-19 vaccines in low and middle-income countries, backed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
