KAMAPALA —A visiting team of Ministers from the Ugandan Cabinet have endorsed DEI Biopharma Vaccines manufacturing plant in Matugga, saying the facility, the first of this magnitude in Africa should be supported by government to cohesion the country and the continent from future health disasters.
“This trip has been extremely inspiring. We might not have understood the technical things but this is a bold step. We are going to have quality and affordable drugs,” said Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao.
“When Uganda enters the middle income status, we will no longer qualify for some special assistance, such as subsidized drugs that means we must prepare to take care of ourselves,” Minister Mao added, he said, adding that the facility should be part of the country’s arrangement.
“I do hope that those of us who are here, will now be witnesses and share our testimonies, convincing all other players that this project is worthy. The next time you see me on TV, I will, say, I went there,” Mr. Mao said. He added that the facility will help to rebrand Uganda.
Mr. Raphael Magyezi, the Minister for Local Government said he had for long doubted President Museveni and Mr. Magoola on the existence of the project.
“I’m now a convert. Maybe, those responsible haven’t for long not done enough to convince. We would have supported this idea a long time ago, ” Minister Magyezi, adding that, he would ensure the project supports cassava and maize producers in the PDM value chain.
Speaking after completing the tour of the facility with the team of Cabinet Ministers, Dr. Monica Musenero Masanza, the Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation commended the DEI Biopharma team under the leadership of Mr. Matthias Magoola for carrying the flag of the African resilience so high, and providing a solution that will lead research and manufacturing of traditional medicines, to serve Africa and humanity.
Musenero sought to bring Cabinet Ministers on ground to ensure they can support the facility as it enters the second phase.
“Mr Magoola asked the government for support to make sure that this facility is supported to move forward because this is a huge, huge asset for Uganda. It’s going to make our country the leading country, in pharmaceuticals on the continent, if it begins to work, so I presented a paper in the cabinet, but as you can see, it is very difficult to explain to somebody who has not seen, this so I requested members of the cabinet to come and see and then they can make a decision when they are well informed,” Minister Musenero said.
She said Magoola has spent about USD 422 million but wants the government to give him a hand.
“Phase two of this facility is going to manufacture vaccines. When this factory is finished, it is going to manufacture all types of vaccines. It’s the mass production for the vaccines, even the COVID vaccines we are working on, this is where we will bring them for the final mass production. Once we have taken them through all the clinical trials, we will be able to manufacture all the children vaccines that we use to vaccinate,” Dr. Musenero said.
The facility which is expected to employ up-to 40,000 directly and tens of thousands of others in the value chain needs more than UGX.500 billion to commence mass production, Mr. Mathias Magoola, the proprietor of the Dei Pharm Vaccines Plant in Matugga told ministers during a guided tour on Tuesday.
Mr. Matthias Magoola, the DEI Group Managing Director said DEI Biopharma has resolved all intellectual property issues and supply chain constraints to be the first company to distribute all new medicines against the antiviral and resistant TB infections.
Mr. Magoola also indicated that the biological products facility of DEI Biopharma will produce all of the biologic medicines listed as essential drugs, including filgrastim, erythropoietin, and trastuzumab, among several others, the first such source of biosimilars in Africa.
He said the manufacturing facilities of DEI Biopharma are built on modular platforms that have arrived or are arriving from the EU and USA.
“These modules are fully cGMP compliant and allow DEI Biopharma to produce the highest quality products that will reduce the need to import lower quality drugs,” he said.
The Dei Biopharma vaccines plant, an arm of Ugandan firm, Dei Group is Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facility and the only fully integrated company providing all dosage forms to all types of drugs, chemical, biological, and vaccines, according to authorities.
DEI Biopharma, sitting on 150 acres of land in Kigogwa Matugga—is the only African company now distributing the Covid-19 treatment medicines and getting ready to supply one billion doses of an mRNA vaccine through collaboration with the World Health Organisation.
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