Arizona Tribune - IAVI, Minapharm, and ProBioGen Announce Memorandum of Understanding to Progress Clinical Development, Manufacturing, Commercialization, and Access to Vaccines and Antibodies in Africa

CAIRO, EGYPT; BERLIN, GERMANY; AND NEW YORK, NY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / October 10, 2025 / IAVI, a nonprofit scientific research organization, based in New York, U.S.; Minapharm, the largest biosimilars manufacturer in Africa, based in Cairo, Egypt; and ProBioGen, a recognized leader in contract development and manufacturing, and a trusted technology provider based in Berlin, Germany today announced a strategic partnership to advance the end-to-end development and manufacturing of priority vaccines and biologics in Africa.

With only one percent of the vaccines serving the African market produced on the continent, there is a pressing need to strengthen innovation and expand local manufacturing capacities to better meet the region's health challenges. Through a novel public-private partnership, these three organizations will work together to bolster the innovation ecosystem on the continent and enable sustainable access to urgently-needed products.

Combining Minapharm's 25 year proven track record in manufacturing and commercializing high-quality, innovative yet affordable biologics on the African continent; ProBioGen's vaccine vector, avian cell line and manufacturing technologies; and IAVI's end-to-end product development expertise, the partners will leverage their complementary strengths to accelerate the development of ProBioGen´s Modified Vaccinia Ankara vaccine against Mpox. The vaccine is being optimized for manufacturing productivity, immunogenicity, and ease of delivery, with the aim of overcoming cost, supply, and implementation barriers that have severely restricted access in regions most impacted by recent Mpox outbreaks.

Building on Minapharm's established monoclonal antibody (mAb) production capabilities and IAVI's history of partnership to support local manufacturing, the three organizations will join forces to further expand the existing regional manufacturing hub for affordable mAbs. The partnership relies on IAVI's strong collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; the Wellcome Trust, who is providing support through grant 226431/Z/22/Z; and other partners. This initiative will be enabled through technology transfer of IAVI's portfolio of antibody-based products for HIV prevention, combined with joint capacity-strengthening, market-shaping efforts, and future collaborations to expand access to a broader range of monoclonal and multispecific antibodies. By expanding regionally driven innovation and supply for priority products, this partnership- which has been convened with support by the kENUP Africa Foundation-- will strengthen health security, bolster production capacity, and enable rapid response capabilities to address leading infectious diseases at their source.

"We are thrilled to launch this new partnership with Minapharm and ProBioGen, which represents a potentially transformative opportunity to accelerate the development of urgently needed innovations to address diseases with devastating and disproportionate impact in Africa," said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., IAVI's President and CEO. "This pioneering collaboration will ensure access to cutting-edge innovations like antibodies for HIV prevention and innovative vaccine strategies for emerging infectious diseases such as Mpox - by expanding the capacity to research, develop, and produce those products in the region where they are most needed."

"By combining our decades of expertise in end-to-end biomanufacturing on the continent, with ProBioGen's bioprocessing excellence, and IAVI's strong global product development leadership, we are creating an intercontinental scientific platform to scale innovation and ensure equitable access to innovative therapies and vaccines for Africa," said Dr. Shaheer Bardissi, Ph.D., Co-CEO, Minapharm Pharmaceuticals.

"It has always been our vision to enable access to complex biologics in the MEA region while strengthening regional and local manufacturing capabilities. We are proud to contribute our expertise as well as our vaccine and antibody manufacturing technologies to this alliance and to support exactly where it matters most," said Dr. Volker Sandig, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer at ProBioGen.

"Africa continues to face significant challenges in accessing monoclonal antibodies due to the lack of affordable, equitable, and sustainable supply. This partnership represents an important step forward in expanding access to mAbs and vaccines for the African continent. Africa CDC stands ready to support Member States in accessing these products through the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM)," said H.E. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

About Minapharm

Minapharm Pharmaceuticals is a leading pharmaceutical company in Egypt and the Middle East and the premier biopharmaceutical company in Africa with over 20 years of experience in cellular and bioprocess engineering. Headquartered in Cairo, Minapharm commercializes over 100 life-saving and life-enhancing products ranging from small molecules to complex genetically-engineered proteins, with an impressive immunotherapy pipeline. Together with its wholly owned Berlin-based subsidiary, ProBioGen AG, Minapharm has established an integrated business model making it to-date the only gene-to-market biopharmaceutical company in the region. Minapharm employs a collective workforce of over 1400 and is listed on the Cairo and Alexandria stock exchange (Symbol: MIPH).

About ProBioGen

ProBioGen is a Berlin-based specialist for developing and manufacturing biopharmaceutical active ingredients, viral vectors and vaccines. The company applies proprietary technologies to enhance product quality and functionality across both recombinant protein therapeutics and complex virus-based modalities. Its integrated CDMO services span cell line and vector design, process development, GMP manufacturing, and advanced analytics - all embedded in a robust quality management system compliant with EMA/FDA standards. Platforms such as CHO.RiGHT® for protein expression and AGE1.CR® cell lines for viral vector production enable clients to accelerate development while ensuring consistency and scalability. With nearly 300 employees at two Berlin sites and over 30 years of experience, ProBioGen supports partners worldwide in delivering the next generation of biologics and gene therapies. For more information about ProBioGen, follow us on LinkedIn.

About IAVI

IAVI is a non-profit scientific research organization dedicated to addressing global, unmet health challenges including HIV and TB. Its mission is to translate scientific discoveries into affordable, globally accessible public health tools. Read more at iavi.org.

ProBioGen Press Contact:
Sarah Wandrey
[email protected]

Minapharm Media Contact:
Christina Azmy
[email protected]
(+2) (02) 24143170

IAVI Media Contact:
Heather Teixeira
[email protected]

SOURCE: IAVI

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

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