In a country prone to animal diseases over the past years, the availability of vaccines is critical to ensure that any outbreak can be controlled.
Newly appointed chief executive officer of Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), Dr Bethuel Nthangeni, said he is ready for the task ahead as he is working hard to ensure OBP delivers in producing vaccines and safeguarding animal health in the country.
Food For Mzansi’s Tiisetso Manoko spoke to Nthangeni about his vision and plans as the CEO of OBP and how he sees their role in addressing animal health concerns.
Tiisetso Manoko: Since your appointment, what has been keeping you busy? What has kept you awake at night about OBP?
Bethuel Nthangeni: The availability of critical vaccines as per market need has been the task that I prioritised. This has been achieved through the introduction of a seven-day working cycle, to the extent that we have improved availability of key products, notably including the African horse sickness vaccine.
Product availability is still a work in progress, while we work on our financial systems to ensure attainment of a clean audit outcome.
What challenges are there in the vaccine manufacturing industry in South Africa and what could be possible solutions?
There is a danger of the so-called vaccines that are being introduced into [the] market without having gone through the rigour of Act 36 registration processes.
The products have not been tested to assure safety and effectiveness, and the use of these products will lead to a compromised national herd immunity.
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Many have called for another vaccine manufacturing company to be established as OBP does not have “capacity”. Do you think that is necessary?
Onderstepoort Biological Products welcomes [the] establishment of competitor manufacturing companies whose vaccine technologies are not based on theft of any other company’s intellectual property, but on the vaccine materials that they themselves have developed.
Otherwise, Onderstepoort Biological Products will continue to invest in its research infrastructure and technologies to ensure [the] development of new vaccine products that address market needs.
What is your vision and where do you see OBP in the next five years?
In five years, Onderstepoort Biological Products will be the largest producer of effective animal vaccines in volume on the continent of Africa, and the annual turnover of OBP will increase double-fold to more than half a billion Rand.
What is your message to the industry as you embark on your new journey as the CEO of OBP?
Onderstepoort Biological Products has invested immensely in its production capacity and research infrastructure. New production equipment with increased capacity is due for delivery at the end of this calendar year, with installation scheduled for early next year.
The industry will experience improved product availability at [an] affordable cost due to economies of scale.
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