Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp has welcomed a decision by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and its Board to allow qualifying private companies to make use of the ARC’s intellectual property (IP) relating to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines and to participate in manufacturing the ARC’s FMD vaccine on a large scale.
Aucamp described the ARC vaccine as a highly effective defence against domestic FMD strains, requiring only a single annual administration.
However, due to manufacturing constraints, the ARC is currently unable to produce its FMD vaccine at scale.
The minister said allowing local and/or international companies to manufacture the ARC vaccine would help the council overcome its current manufacturing constraints.
“Partnering with the private sector to manufacture the ARC vaccine marks a decisive breakthrough in safeguarding South Africa’s livestock sector, strengthening national biosecurity, and securing food supply chains.
I’ve listened to the concerns of farmers and other stakeholders in the sector, and I appreciate that they want swift action to deal with this foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. It is against this background that we are now, for the first time, going to allow the private sector to make use of the IP of the ARC to enhance the availability of the ARC vaccine,” said Aucamp.
The minister highlighted that the ARC is committed to rebuilding its own internal production capacity. While third-party assistance will be brought in to produce the ARC vaccine on a large scale, the ARC will continue to expand its own FMD vaccine manufacturing capacity.
Furthermore, Aucamp said the income that the ARC derives from these licensing agreements would be ring-fenced by the council and used exclusively to increase its own FMD vaccine manufacturing capacity.
“Although the implementation of this decision will not happen overnight, it is a huge step forward in combating this FMD outbreak, and I am proud to confirm that all parties involved have committed to do whatever they can to ensure that this decision is implemented without delay,” explained Aucamp.
