our releases to the press
Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announces transatlantic bridge between the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa to develop and manufacture pharmaceuticals for global public health
November 8, 2022 at 14:00 PM EEST
Today, on the sidelines of COP27, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana H.E. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and President of the Republic of Rwanda,. H.E. Paul Kagame met in Sharm El-Sheikh to discuss the furthering of pharmaceutical equity for global public health.
In attendence were, among others, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Acting Director Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma of Africa CDC, President Dr Werner Hoyer of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Prof Senait Fisseha, MD., JD, as well as kENUP Foundation Chairman Holm Keller.
The key recommendation emanating from the meeting is an inter-governmental South-South cooperation initiative aiming at the development and manufacturing of essential, contemporary pharmaceuticals for the populations of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa within their respective continents by 2040. Initially, it is intended for the cooperation to focus on next generation oncological drugs, preventive and therapeutic vaccines, as well as on modalities for women’s health. It is also stipulated that all manufacturing sites related to this endeavor will be in full compliance with the relevant stipulations of the COP21 Paris Agreement.
The leaders of the countries and organizations which have launched this initiative have emphasized that all interested countries in the Caribbean, Latin America and African region are invited to join.
The Communiqué can be accessed and downloaded here, with the
official press being available
here. A short video clip with the Hon. Mia Mottley's statement can be viewed
here.
________
A ‘home away from home’ for our guests from Ukraine
April 14, 2022 at 5 PM Central European Time
kENUP Foundation’s offices in Malta have recently been transformed into a residence for ten Ukrainian families fleeing their war-torn country. Employees of kENUP Foundation and EDU are now working from home and their desks and chairs were replaced by beds, wardrobes and all that was required to create a ‘home away from home’ for our guests. The families are allowed to stay on for as long as is necessary and are not being charged for accommodation or all the other services being provided, including daily meals served by EsploraCafe.
Our guests flew from Warsaw Airport to Malta on free flights which were organized through the support of Captain Charles Pace and other Transport Malta employees. kENUP wishes to express the Foundation’s sincere gratitude to Maltese civic society for the kindest support provided, with a very special mention of The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST), ESPLORA Science Museum and, last not least, the Band Club of St. Joseph in Hamrun.
________
BioNTech introduces first modular mRNA manufacturing facility to promote scalable vaccine production in Africa
February 16, 2022 at 12:15 PM Central European Time
Today, on invitation of and moderated by kENUP Foundation, BioNTech SE presented a scalable container manufacturing solution named “BioNTainer”.
Participants of the high-level meeting held at the BioNTech's new manufacturing facility in Marburg / Germany included the President of the African Union, H.E. President Macky Sall of Senegal, H.E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, H.E. President Nana Akufo- Addo of Ghana, Hon. Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, per pro H.E. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, and Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
________
British Medical Journal publishing kENUP Mission Report to South Africa
February 11, 2022 at 10:00 AM Central European Time
In an article published online on February 9, 2022, the British Medical Journal quotes a single passage from a kENUP Mission Report on South Africa, giving the impression that kENUP is agitating against efforts to develop vaccines in Africa. This is wrong, and ignores the progress reached by the parties in the meantime. We are, thus, uploading the full report below so that the context of the quoted single paragraph is given.
Our report is a summary prepared after the trip as a protocol of the mission on August 11 to August 14, 2021, and was sent to all stakeholders for their consideration thereafter. Here, kENUP summarizes its findings and assessments of the mission, and proposes several options for collaboration between stakeholders involved. kENUP Foundation is committed to support sustainable vaccine equity on the African continent. If this report has been perceived in a different way, we would like to ask the respective stakeholders to reach out to us to discuss and allow us to joitly clarify, as this was not our intention.
________
Construction of BioNTech's first mRNA manufacturing facility in Africa to start in 2022
October 26, 2021 at 14:15 PM Central African Time
At a side-event to the Second AU-EU Ministerial Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda today, BioNTech SE has signed initial agreements with the Republics of Senegal and Rwanda. The ceremony was hosted by kENUP Foundation.
________
CAPRISA, Evotec and kENUP launch new project to fast-track novel technology for HIV prevention
October 25, 2021 at 13:15 PM Central African Time
On October 25, 2021, at the fringes of the African Union - European Union Ministerial Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, Prof Salim Abdool Karim, Director of CAPRISA, announced a collaboration with a leading life science company Evotec SE for the designing and development of CAP256, a broadly neutralizing antibody against HIV. The project is an expansion of the development of an antibody originally developed jointly by CAPRISA and the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of The National Institutes of Health of the United States.
The meeting has been convened by the kENUP Foundation in cooperation with CAPRISA and Evotec. Also in attendance were Prof Dr Salim Abdool Karim, CAPRISA, Professor for Global Health in Epidemiology; Dr Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer Evotec SE; H.E. Dr Daniel Ngamije, Minister of Health, Republic of Rwanda; H.E. Antoine Anfré, French Ambassador to Rwanda; H.E. Dr Lindiwe Makubalo, WHO Assistant Regional Director for Africa; Dr Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Holm Keller, Executive Chairman of kENUP Foundation.
- To access kENUP's press release, please click here.
________
kENUP initiates Joint Communiqué: BioNTech evaluates mRNA vaccine manufacturing solutions in Rwanda and Senegal to improve long-term vaccine supply from Africa for Africa
August 27, 2021 at 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Today, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Macky Sall of Senegal, and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission met Uğur Şahin, CEO and Co-Founder of BioNTech in Berlin at the Barenboim-Said-Akademie to discuss the development of sustainable vaccine production for Africa.
The meeting has been convened by the kENUP Foundation in cooperation with BioNTech. Also in attendance were Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Matshidso Moeti, WHO Africa Regional Director, and Dr Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB).
________
BioNTech Announces Project to Develop the First mRNA-Based Prophylactic Malaria vaccine, and the set-up of Manufacturing Infrastructures in Africa
July 26, 2021 at 10:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time
- BioNTech’s Malaria project aims at the development of the first mRNA-based vaccine for Malaria prevention and the implementation of sustainable solutions for vaccine supply on the African continent.
- BioNTech is evaluating end-to-end mRNA vaccine production capacities in Africa; will co-locate with the WHO technology transfer hubs, in alignment with Africa CDC’s manufacturing strategy.
- Programme to eradicate Malaria initiated by eradicateMalaria, a platform run by kENUP Foundation in close cooperation with WHO, supported by the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
To access kENUP's full press release, please click here
Video documentation of the launch event, and our partner's press release can be accessed here.
________
Vaccine skepticism in Germany multiplies with novel COVID vaccines
February 11, 2021, with update on February 16, 2021
Today, the results of a first representative empirical study of COVID-19 vaccine skeptics - conducted by kENUP Foundation, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences and the EIB Institute - have been published:
- 13.7 million new vaccine opponents since pandemic onset;
- 90% of these skeptics feel they have no influence over politics;
- while new skeptics could be convinced by facts, long-term anti-vaccinationists appear to be unyielding.
To access the full study, please click here.
The partner's press release can be accessed here.
To access kENUP's businesswire release, please click here.
________
AchilleS Vaccines Completes Industrial Development of Promising Treatment Against SARS-CoV-2
January 25, 2021 06:37 AM Eastern Standard Time
Today, AchilleS Vaccines announced the successful industrial development of an innovative mAb to treat COVID-19:
- therapeutic will be administered IM, broadening access to COVID-19 treatment
- further development aimed at achieving emergency market authorization this summer
To access the full release, please click here.
________
Governments Spent at Least €93bn on COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics During the Last 11 Months
January 11, 2021 08:30 AM Central European Time
New figures from kENUP Foundation show extent of public investments in COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics:
- 95% of funds in support of vaccines, with just 5% allocated to therapeutics
- On the vaccine side, 71% of public funding went into products under development by SMEs and MidCaps
To access the full release, please click here.
________
kENUP Foundation Season's Greetings
December 24, 2020 04:00 PM Central European Time
With this video, everybody at kENUP Foundation wishes its clients, partners and friends a heart-warming Christmas, a hard-working Santa, and the very best for a healthy and happy 2021 !
________
kENUP Foundation: EIB and FIND back innovative plant-based reagent manufacturing in Africa to fight COVID-19 and other endemic diseases
December 18, 2020 02:58 PM Central European Time
African reagent manufacturing for rapid testing kits and treatment for COVID-19 and other endemic diseases will be transformed by construction of a new Cape Biologix Technologies facility in Mauritius.
To access the full release, please click here.
________
kENUP Foundation: EIB Launches EUR 50 Million Africa Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Initiative
December 17, 2020 04:14 PM Central European Time
The European Investment Bank today launched the first ever scheme to strengthen local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Africa. EIB's EUR 50 million investment initiative, initiated together with kENUP Foundation, will contribute to reducing dependency on drug imports and address medical supply chain weaknesses.
To access the full release, please click here.
________
EU Malaria Fund: Sanaria receives substantial investment into its proprietary malaria platform
November 15, 2020 04:00 PM Central European Time
On the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene approximately 4,900 global health professionals representing academia, government, and the private sector were informed about the latest investment of the EU Malaria Fund.
To access the full release, please click here.
________
Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center and Pluristem Unveil Joint Projects at Malta Conferences Foundation Online Event
October 01, 2020 10:08 AM Central European Summer Time
On Wednesday, September 30, 2020, Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:PSTI) (TASE:PSTI) and the Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center (ADSCC) unveiled their first joint projects in a presentation at the Malta Conferences Foundation (MCF), a global conference supported by kENUP Foundation, a promoter of research-based innovation with public and societal benefit.
To access the full release, please click here.
________
Market Failure? kENUP and YUVEDO High-Level Online Event Kick-starts Call for Projects Tackling the Growing Threat of Parkinson’s and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases
September 21, 2020 10:14 AM Central European Summer Time
High-Level Online Conference Kick-starts Open Public Call for Projects Tackling the Growing Threat of Parkinson’s and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases. Despite the predictable medical, social and economic challenges of NDDs, too little has happened in recent years to address the underlying causes of NDDs.
To access the full release, please click here.
________
Boosting Investment in R&I: €100,000 donation by kENUP Foundation to Malta’s COVID-19 R&D Fund
August 01, 2020 10:23 AM Central European Summer Time
kENUP Foundation has presented €100,000 donation into Malta’s COVID-19 R&D Fund. The Fund is managed jointly by the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) and Malta Enterprise with the support of the Ministry for Finance and Financial Services, and the Ministry for the Economy, Investment & Small Businesses.
To access the full release, please click here.
________
Italy to Be First Beneficiary of EU Malaria Fund: Siena-Based Achilles Vaccines srl to Receive Financing to Fight Malaria and COVID-19
June 19, 2020 09:37 AM Central European Summer Time
The EU Malaria Fund (EUMF) yesterday presented its first investment into Achilles Vaccines srl at the premises of Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena in Italy. The investment supports development of a novel Malaria vaccine on its versatile technology platform.
To access the full release, please click here.