Delese Darko
Pharmaceutical companies in Ghana will soon begin the packaging of Covid-19 vaccine in the country, says the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
According to the regulatory Authority, the country could start the importation of unpackaged Covid-19 vaccines in bulk for local pharmaceutical companies to fill into vials.
Chief Executive Officer, FDA, Delese Darko, announced this during an interview with local radio station in Accra.
She said some indigenous companies are already in the processes of getting the necessary documentation adding that if all things go as planned, the activity is likely to start in the next six months.
“We may not be at that end of the entire drug development lifecycle but at least we can start with the filling,” Mrs. Darko said.
“There is one company that probably in the next six months, could start filling vaccines into vials and labelling them. You would get the bulk from one of these manufacturers and then complete it, do the testing and everything and then send the vaccine out,” she explained.
Mrs. Darko indicated that the country could have as many as three companies engaged in the process of filling the vaccines into vials.
“We’ve also found another company that is on the way there and there is the third that is about to start… We will be well-positioned to start filling and finishing vaccines in the next six months,” Mrs. Darko stated.
President Akufo-Addo in his recent Covid-19 address to the nation indicated the country’s willingness to begin the manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines.
He stated that a committee to formulate a concrete plan for vaccine development and manufacturing in Ghana has been established for that purpose.
Though Ghana may not be well-placed to commence research and clinical trials now, Mrs Darko said the filling of vials with the vaccine is more attainable at the moment.
Ghana began its Covid-19 vaccination campaign on March 2 with 600,000 AstraZeneca doses it received from the global COVAX vaccine-sharing facility.
So far, over 400,000 eligible persons including President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and their spouses have taken the vaccine in the first phase of the campaign.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri