The Leader of Opposition (LOP) Joel Ssenyonyi, alongside a group of 15 opposition MPs, toured Uganda’s first biotechnology and pharmaceuticals research facility, Dei BioPharma, in Matugga on Thursday.
The visit aimed to assess the progress of the 150-acre drugs and vaccines manufacturing plant, led by Dr. Patrick Wakida and founder Dr. Matthias Magoola.
The Leader of Opposition urged Dei BioPharma drugs and vaccines manufacturing plant to speed up production of essential vaccines, offering Ugandans hope for reduced reliance on imported vaccines.
He also commended the progress made so far and appreciated the facility’s openness to scrutiny.
Ssenyonyi acknowledged the facility’s significance and challenged Dei BioPharma to prove its value to Ugandans.
“We will keep coming and following up to ensure there’s value for the money invested,” he emphasized.
Magoola expressed gratitude to MPs for their support and assured them of the company’s commitment to delivering quality products.
According to Dr. Magoola, the manufacturing plant project consists of 10 different state-of-the-art facilities, each specializing in vaccines, generics, nutraceuticals, oncology/cancer, penicillin, cephalosporins, non-beta-lactam, injectables, WFI, parentals, medical devices, and ophthalmic products.
Additionally, it boasts the vital YKTM GLP Biotech Laboratories, which covers the groundbreaking components of cancer research, QA/QC, drug discovery, gene therapy, cell therapy, mRNA therapeutics, vaccines, biosimilars, and biologics.
Five of the ten components, including the Generics section, the warehousing facility, the biotech laboratories, the injectable facility, and the vaccines plant, are ready for production.
Crucially, the facility has the ability to manufacture biological drugs, cytokines, therapeutic protein, peptides, and monoclonal antibodies.
Dei BioPharma was recently listed as the winner of the best pharma company at this year’s African Excellence Awards, organized by MEA Markets, based in London, UK.
Dei BioPharma Ltd, Uganda-funded research-based drugs and vaccines manufacturing firm, was recognized for the current development of the flagship biological drugs and vaccines manufacturing facility in Matugga, Wakiso District, in Uganda, which is creating thousands of professional jobs; it is the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing and also the first biotechnology products company that will introduce most advanced technologies such as mRNA, gene therapy, novel vaccines, and recombinant drugs, besides other essential medicines in Uganda that is compliant with stringent regulatory country good manufacturing practices.
Dr. Magoola has also led Dei BioPharma to innovative discoveries in advanced therapies, including the first US-patented chemical drug using N-Isobutyll-3, 4-metheylenedioxy-trans-cinnamide compositions to treat malaria, the first mRNA universal vaccine against malaria, among other mRNA vaccines against neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, HIV/HPV (“mNRA-Based Vaccine Composition for Inducing Immune Response Against HIV and HPV” patented under certificate number 63921929 in the USA and ten more for untreatable diseases — all inventions patented in the USA.
Upon fully completion, the Matugga-based drugs and vaccines manufacturing plant, at an estimated cost of one billion US dollars, will go a long way in introducing the direly needed therapies that are unaffordable to most Africans, such as anticancer drugs, as well as novel vaccines specifically targeting the infections in Africa; such supply of essential treatments could only be made possible by Dei Biopharma as it focuses on the needs of the Africans.
Above all, these contributions of Uganda will create role models for other African scientists to lead research and development instead of being at the receiving end of obsolete technology that had always been limited to the end part of product manufacturing, and even that had been very limited throughout the history of Africa.
