African solutions for African health challenges
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
We partner with investors, governments and entrepreneurs to set up pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities and develop products across Africa — from feasibility and GMP design through tech transfer, product development and market access. Our platform de-risks entry into one of the world's fastest-growing health markets.
The Investment Case
Why investors are moving into African pharmaceutical manufacturing
Africa imports the overwhelming majority of its vaccines and pharmaceuticals, while producing only a small fraction of what it consumes. The continent's pharmaceutical market is expanding rapidly, and the African Union has committed to manufacturing most of its vaccines locally within the coming decades — a policy commitment that is actively redirecting public procurement toward local producers.
Zimbabwe is a live example of the gap and the opportunity. The country imports the bulk of its ARVs and essential medicines, and government spending on imports is a recurring and rising cost. Local manufacturers currently have the technical capacity to produce only part of the national Essential Medicines List, despite a National Pharmaceutical Strategy that targets substantial growth in local production and local market share.
This is the gap we help investors fill.
Other reference points across the continent — Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal, BioNTech's mRNA facility in Kigali, Aspen's fill-finish capacity in Gqeberha, DEK Vaccines in Ghana — show that the model works when facility development, product development and regulatory pathways are handled together. That is exactly the package this division delivers.
For Investors
What you get when you build with us
Feasibility & Business Case
Market sizing, product selection, cost-of-goods modelling, offtake and public procurement analysis for your target country or region.
ExploreFacility Design & GMP Build
Concept and detailed design, equipment specification, cleanroom and utilities planning, qualification and validation to WHO-GMP.
ExploreTechnology Transfer & Licensing
Access to validated strains, cell lines, processes and formulations — licensed for your territory and supported through transfer.
ExploreProduct Development
Formulation, analytical method development, stability studies and MCAZ / WHO prequalification dossier preparation.
ExploreWorkforce & Systems
Training of operators, QC analysts and QA staff; QMS, SOPs and documentation built to inspection standard.
ExploreMarket Access & Partnerships
Introduction to regulators, procurement agencies, distributors and regional manufacturing networks across SADC and the AU.
ExploreCapabilities
Everything inside this division
Grouped modules covering the full scope of work delivered by this part of the institute.
Process
- API Development
- Formulation Science
- Bioprocessing
- Quality Control
- Regulatory Affairs
Therapeutics
- Biologics & Vaccines
- Phytopharmaceuticals
- Generics
- Antimicrobials
- Diagnostics
Facility Development Pathway
From investment decision to product on shelf
Opportunity & Feasibility
Target products and market defined; demand, pricing, offtake and regulatory route assessed.
Site, Design & Funding
Site selection, facility concept, equipment list, capex model and investor-ready documentation.
Build, Equip & Qualify
Construction or retrofit, equipment installation, IQ/OQ/PQ and WHO-GMP readiness.
Transfer & Develop
Strain and process transfer, formulation development, analytical validation and stability.
Register & Supply
Dossier submission to MCAZ and regional regulators; first commercial batch released with full Certificate of Analysis.
Bioprocess
From molecule to medicine
Target & Sourcing
Active ingredients identified from local botanicals or synthetic routes; raw materials characterised per MCAZ guidelines.
Cell Line & Strain
Production organisms engineered, banked and validated for stability and yield.
Upstream Processing
Media and fermentation optimisation from laboratory to pilot scale under WHO-GMP conditions.
Downstream
Chromatography, purification and sterile fill-finish to pharmacopeial specification.
Product Release
Tablet, capsule or injectable released with a full Certificate of Analysis for local and export markets.
Services
Request a service from this division
Pharmaceutical Facility Feasibility & Setup
End-to-end support to take a manufacturing investment from concept to GMP-qualified production.
ExploreContract Manufacturing (CMO)
Tech transfer and GMP manufacturing for local and regional pharmaceutical companies — including bridge production while your own facility is being built.
ExploreRegulatory & MCAZ Dossier Support
Preparation and submission support for medicines registration, variations and WHO prequalification across African markets.
ExploreBioequivalence & Clinical Research
Phase I–III trial support for generic and novel therapeutics, focused on HIV, TB, malaria and non-communicable diseases — the conditions driving the largest share of Africa's pharmaceutical spend.
ExploreLaboratories
Where this work is done
Pharmaceutical Analysis Laboratory
HPLC, GC-MS, dissolution testing and stability studies for drug registration and batch release.
ExploreMolecular Biology Laboratory
Real-time PCR, amplification and nucleic acid workflows for pharmacogenomics.
ExploreResearch
Active programmes
Local Production of Antiretrovirals (ARVs)
Zimbabwe imports the bulk of its ARVs, and government spending on those imports is a recurring cost. This programme develops a licensable API synthesis and formulation package that investors can deploy as a local ARV manufacturing facility.
ExploreZimbabwe Phytopharmaceutical Development Platform
Indigenous medicinal plants are traded widely across Harare's urban markets and form a substantial informal economy. We standardise and clinically validate these plants for priority conditions — gastrointestinal disorders, women's health and sexually transmitted infections — and package them for commercial scale-up.
ExploreVaccine Fill-Finish and Cold-Chain Readiness
Zimbabwe has achieved strong national immunisation coverage, yet Africa produces very little of its own vaccine supply against an AU target of majority local manufacture. This programme develops fill-finish, stability testing and cold-chain capacity as a ready-made investment opportunity for Zimbabwe and SADC.
ExploreRegional API Park Concept
Feasibility work on a shared API and excipient production hub serving multiple African markets, reducing duplication of capex across smaller national facilities.
Explore