BioNTech to build Africa’s first commercial mRNA vaccine facility

BioNTech, an immunotherapy company headquartered in Germany, is advancing construction of an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Kigali, Rwanda, designed to strengthen local vaccine production capacity and expand access to essential vaccines across Africa. 

The site will use the company’s modular “BioNTainers” — high-tech, transportable manufacturing units that can be rapidly deployed and adapted to produce different mRNA-based vaccines, according to announcement. BioNTech Rwanda, established in 2022, will manage the facility.

The facility, financially supported by the European Investment Bank, the European Commission, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), reportedly represents a key milestone in BioNTech’s mission to build a self-sustaining vaccine ecosystem in Africa. 

Once operational, the Kigali site will be capable of manufacturing both clinical trial materials and commercial vaccines, according to the company. The project aims to train local scientists, generate jobs, and establish Rwanda as a hub for medical innovation and mRNA technology.

“BioNTech is dedicated to working across the entire development chain, partnering with local communities, researchers, governments, and not-for-profit organizations to make a meaningful impact,” Sierk Poetting, BioNTech’s COO, said in a statement. “The support by the European Commission, European Investment Bank and CEPI are an important contribution to the joint efforts of advancing and strengthening the implementation of a local mRNA vaccine ecosystem — covering the spectrum from clinical trials to commercial production.”

The Kigali facility is central to BioNTech’s broader goal of developing mRNA vaccines for diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, and mpox. If successful, it would become the first commercial mRNA vaccine facility on the African continent, advancing the African Union’s goal to produce 60% of its vaccines locally by 2040, the company said.