EIB, FINDdx and CAPE : plant-based manufacturing of affordable proteins for use in diagnostics, diagnostics and therapeutics

African manufacturing of proteins needed for the vaccines, rapid testing kits and treatments of COVID-19 and other endemic diseases will be transformed by the extension of Cape Biologix Technologies existing factory in Cape Town, followed by the construction of a new facility in Mauritius.

The large-scale cGMP manufacturing facility aims to ensure the supply of crucial reagents for the production of 100 million vaccines a month for distribution across Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. The support will enable Cape Biologix to substantially enlarge manufacturing capacity, expand laboratory processing and build climate controlled hydroponic grow rooms to provide plant-made proteins for prevention, testing and treatment of COVID-19 and other endemic diseases.

Initiated by kENUP Foundation, new financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and FIND (the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics) for the EUR 47.5 million project was formally agreed earlier today. The EIB will provide EUR 33.3 million for the specialist manufacturing plant in Mauritius. This has been complemented by EUR 3.2m provided by FIND that is being used to fund the rapid scale-up of the pilot phase production in Cape Town, South Africa.