The government will compensate and relocate residents living on land surrounding the Dei BioPharma Ltd medicines and vaccines manufacturing campus in Matugga, Wakiso District, to facilitate the expansion of the pharmaceutical plant, the Minister of State for Investment and Privatisation, Aminah Mukalazi, has said.
Mukalazi made the announcement on Friday, September 18, after meeting affected residents at the Dei BioPharma campus in Kigoogwa, Matugga. She said she was acting on directives from President Yoweri Museveni.
The minister first held a closed-door meeting with Dei BioPharma management, led by the company’s proprietor, Dr Matthias Magoola. The meeting was also attended by Wakiso Resident District Commissioner Charles Lwanga, security officials and local leaders, including Gombe Division Mayor Hajjat Mbabazi.
Mukalazi said the government would compensate genuine owners of land and property around the manufacturing facility to pave the way for its expansion.
She said Museveni had directed leaders in Nansana Municipality and Gombe Division to halt further construction within a specified radius of the plant.
According to Mukalazi, the President has also directed relevant government agencies to begin the process of relocating residents from the area, which she said had already been gazetted as an industrial park.
The minister addressed residents from Kigoogwa A and B, Kiryammuli, Wabitembe and Kiryowa, urging them to support the pharmaceutical project.
She said the government, which she described as having a significant shareholding and interest in Dei BioPharma, had a responsibility to protect the public and support the development of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Mukalazi said government valuers would assess the claims of both mailo landowners and bibanja holders before compensation is made.
She also cautioned residents against dealing with intermediaries and said technical officers had been directed to stop further land transfers in the affected area.
“The Government is coming in peace. We shall work with Dei BioPharma and other ministries to pay all genuine owners,” she said.
Certification requirements
Dr Magoola said the presence of homes and other human activity around the manufacturing campus could make it difficult for the company to secure international certification required to operate in global markets.
“The law requires that a manufacturing entity of this nature should not have neighbours close. They require us to be surrounded by security and trees,” he said.
Dei BioPharma plans to undertake contract manufacturing for international pharmaceutical companies once the facility is completed. The company will, however, need to obtain approvals from regulators including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The company says settlement around the facility could affect its efforts to meet the requirements for such certifications.
Dei BioPharma currently occupies about 250 acres, where it is developing a large-scale manufacturing campus expected to accommodate about 30 factories. The company is seeking additional land to support the planned expansion.
The pharmaceutical project has previously attracted government attention as part of efforts to expand local production of medicines and reduce reliance on imported pharmaceutical products.
Founded in 2014 by scientist and innovator Dr Matthias Magoola, Dei BioPharma says it has filed more than 100 patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The company says the applications cover treatments and technologies relating to cancer, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, sickle cell disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
More than 70 of the applications have been published by the USPTO, according to the company, including work involving foot-and-mouth disease, guided-RNA cancer therapy, mRNA platforms and biosimilars.
The company also says the US FDA has accepted development plans for some of its products.
The Matugga facility is licensed by Uganda’s National Drug Authority. The company says it currently produces about nine generic medicines across six operational manufacturing lines. The NDA’s public licensing records also list Dei BioPharma among licensed entities.
