Cape Town, South Africa & Brussels, Belgium— December 12th, 2025
Afrigen Biologics and Quantoom Biosciences today announced the successful completion of a technical production run (800ml IVT) for an mRNA-based vaccine candidate targeting Rift Valley fever (RVF) — marking a major step toward developing the first human mRNA vaccine against a disease that poses growing epidemic risks across Africa and the Middle East.
This milestone validates the ability to rapidly manufacture mRNA vaccine material using Quantoom’s RNA manufacturing technologies and Afrigen’s production capabilities. It positions the partners to accelerate progress toward preclinical evaluation and future clinical testing.
The work builds on Afrigen’s ongoing collaboration with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which supports the development of RVF mRNA vaccine candidates as part of global efforts to strengthen rapid-response platforms and regional manufacturing capacity.
Rift Valley fever is affecting both livestock and humans, with potentially severe and sometimes fatal outcomes. While animal vaccines exist, no licensed human vaccine is currently available. Recent outbreaks reported in Senegal and Mauritania — including 546 and 53 confirmed cases as well as 31 and 15 deaths respectively — in late 2025 underscore the urgency. As climate change may increase the risk, frequency and geographic spread of RVF outbreaks, making rapid vaccine development a critical public-health priority.
Advancing a Rapid, Flexible mRNA Platform
The successful technical run demonstrates the feasibility of producing an RVF vaccine candidate using an end-to-end mRNA manufacturing ecosystem, enabling:
- Fast vaccine design and production, essential for epidemic-preparedness timelines
- Local and regional manufacturing capability close to where outbreaks occur
- Scalable processes suitable for future clinical development and outbreak-response stockpiles
By combining Afrigen’s leadership in mRNA vaccine development and Quantoom’s RNA production technologies, the partners are helping to establish a distributed, agile, and resilient vaccine-manufacturing model aligned with the objectives of global health initiatives such as the 100 Days Mission.
Petro TERBLANCHE, CEO, Afrigen Biologics added: “Local manufacturing capacity is key to epidemic response. Completing this technical run brings us closer to producing vaccines where they are needed most and strengthening Africa’s ability to respond to current and future outbreaks.”
“This technical run is more than a manufacturing achievement for Quantoom’s technology — it’s a demonstration of how quickly our technology can be mobilized against high-risk pathogens like Rift Valley fever, meeting the requirements of pandemic preparedness.” said José CASTILLO, CEO, Quantoom Biosciences.
About Afrigen
Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, is a biotechnology company dedicated to advancing vaccine and biological production in Africa. As a key partner in the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme, Afrigen has spearheaded efforts to develop and manufacture Africa’s first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, AfriVac 2021. With a mission to foster health innovation and capacity-building in the Global South, Afrigen leads in R&D, technology transfer, and training, playing an essential role in building a self-sufficient, resilient biomanufacturing network for Africa.
