The strategic partnership will enable Aspen Pharmacare to increase production capacity to meet the rising demands for COVID-19 vaccines in Africa.
Co-financed by funds from the develoPPP programme of the German Government, digital technologies will enable faster and more efficient production while ensuring consistent product quality.
In a joint project, Siemens South Africa, Aspen SA Operations (Pty) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited (collectively “Aspen”) and Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) have entered into an agreement to enable the use of digital technologies to enhance the efficiency of COVID vaccine production on the African continent, through Aspen’s Gqeberha-based manufacturing facility.
The project will strengthen the global competitiveness of the South African pharmaceutical industry and improve the continent’s resilience against other diseases and future pandemics. Against this background, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has commissioned DEG to finance the establishment of home-grown vaccine manufacturing capacities. South Africa is the most advanced pharmaceutical market on the continent with Aspen being Africa’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Aspen is in the process of licensing the rights for the first African COVID vaccines, which it will launch as Aspenovax during the early parts of quarter 2. Aspenovax will provide Africa its own COVID vaccine, produced on the African continent by Aspen for African patients. The production of Aspenovax, and consequently the continent, stands to benefit from the joint Siemens-Aspen project.
This will include a suite of Siemens digital technologies to enhance the current manufacturing processes at Aspen and provide enhanced production execution, energy efficiency, product tracking, central management of the entire production network and introduce additional energy monitoring devices, flow instruments and temperature sensors. A key aspect of this project will also include training and development of skills for the effective maintenance of Aspen’s production facility in Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape.
Sabine Dall’Omo, Chief Executive Officer for Siemens Southern & Eastern Africa explains, ‘With our innovative Digital Twin simulation, the production environment will be kept up to date to be leveraged in determining the impact of strategic improvement initiatives. The full scope of supply is aimed at improving the efficiency, thereby reducing wastage of valuable vaccine doses while introducing energy management to minimize carbon emissions. We are proud to collaborate with Aspen and DEG in South Africa, thereby supporting the pharmaceutical industry to intensify the production of vaccines globally. This partnership between Aspen, DEG and Siemens clearly demonstrates how our digital technologies can benefit society. Ultimately, our collaboration will accelerate the development of vaccines thereby reducing time to market, while maintaining quality as we try to win the race against time to save lives.”
Stephen Saad, Aspen Group Chief Executive said, “We are pleased to be able to partner with Siemens for additional digital technologies that will further complement our existing high-technology, state-of-the-art pharmaceutical equipment and systems used to manufacture advanced sterile medicines, including vaccines for the continent. Aspen has invested in excess of R3.0 billion at our Gqeberha-based flagship sterile manufacturing site in the Eastern Cape, the single largest investment in the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa.”
“Africa has remained vaccine constrained, importing some 99% of its vaccine requirements and the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the continent’s inequitable access to vaccines globally. Aspen has manufactured over 100 million doses of the Janssen COVID-vaccine and, in November 2021, we secured a non-binding agreement to manufacture and sell Aspenovax, Aspen’s own brand of the vaccine in Africa thereby providing a COVID-19 vaccine made in Africa for Africa,” added Saad.
About Siemens AG:
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. From more resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, and smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation as well as advanced healthcare, the company creates technology with purpose adding real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to transform the everyday for billions of people. Siemens also owns a majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, a globally leading medical technology provider shaping the future of healthcare. In addition, Siemens holds a minority stake in Siemens Energy, a global leader in the transmission and generation of electrical power. In fiscal 2021, which ended on September 30, 2021, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €62.3 billion and net income of €6.7 billion. As of September 30, 2021, the company had around 303,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.Siemens.com.
For further information on Siemens in South Africa, please visit:
About Aspen:
Headquartered in Durban, South Africa, Aspen is a leading global specialty and branded multinational pharmaceutical company in both emerging and developed markets.
Aspen improves the health of patients in more than 150 countries through its high quality, affordable and effective healthcare solutions. The Group’s key business segments are Manufacturing and Commercial Pharmaceuticals comprising Regional Brands and Sterile Focus Brands that include anaesthetics and thrombosis products.
Aspen employs approximately 9 100 people and has 69 established business operations in over 50 countries. The Group operates 23 manufacturing facilities across 15 sites and holds international manufacturing approvals from some of the most stringent global regulatory agencies. Its manufacturing capabilities are scalable to demand and cover a wide variety of product-types including steriles, oral solid dose, liquids, semi-solids, biologicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. For more information visit www.AspenPharma.com
About DEG
For almost 60 years DEG has been a reliable partner to private-sector enterprises operating in developing and emerging-market countries. We provide our customers with tailor-made solutions, including financing, promotional programmes and advice tailored to individual needs. They can thus develop successfully and sustainably, while generating local added value and creating qualified jobs. With our portfolio of around EUR 9.2 billion in approximately 80 countries we’re one of the world’s largest private-sector development financiers.
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