The founder of Dei BioPharma has announced the company is seeking $130 million from investors to complete a $1.1 billion investment plan for manufacturing key drugs for non-communicable diseases like cancer, heart disease, and acute kidney failure.
Speaking to delegates from the Africa Center for Disease Control (Africa CDC) at the company’s 150-acre facility, founder Dr. Mathias Magoola stated that while he has secured $700 million, a deficit remains. The investment is also intended to fund the production of newer medicines and vaccines using Messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
During the meeting, Dr. Magoola revealed for the first time that the company’s previous effort to create a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine was halted over fears of potential legal battles. He explained that after three months of development, tests showed the Ugandan-made vaccine was “a hundred per cent similar” to the mRNA vaccine produced by Moderna in the United States.
Although the vaccine was never released, Dr. Magoola said the process “helped them test and validate their technology,” which will now be applied to other products.
In response to the funding plea, the Africa CDC outlined potential avenues for support. Dr. Abebe Genetu Bayir, the coordinator for local manufacturing at Africa CDC, pointed to a $2 billion facility from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) designed to support the continent’s health manufacturing ambitions.
Furthermore, Dr. Genetu said a $1.2 billion GAVI funding grant, the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), is available to bolster vaccine manufacturing in Africa. However, to benefit from this fund, Dei BioPharma must achieve World Health Organisation (WHO) prequalification for its products.
The company has already received a significant investment of 723.4 billion shillings from the government of Uganda between 2020 and 2024. Currently, the plant produces essential medicines, including paracetamol, Tramadol, and the diabetes drug metformin.
Dr. Magoola also announced plans to list the company within the next year to raise capital.
