Kenya Biovax Institute is a state-owned organization that was incorporated in 2021 to manufacture, package and commercialize vaccines and other health products and technologies. This was informed by a feasibility study that was conducted in 2020 which sought to understand if the country could manufacture its own vaccines to fill the gap when it exits the support of GAVI in 2027. Based on this study, the Government of Kenya (GoK) committed to build its own capacity for the production of human vaccines to ensure long-term sufficiency in its immunization agenda. Additionally, this project was catalyzed by the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic whereby African governments could not provide adequate vaccines for their populations as developed countries prioritized the vaccination of their own citizens bringing into light the vaccine inequity that exists especially in Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The mandate of the Kenya BioVax Institute (KBI) is to manufacture human vaccines and other routine and emergency vaccines to serve the people of Kenya and beyond, to manufacture other biomedical products including, among others, biosimilar anti-cancers, snake anti-venoms, insulin, medical infusions, and other biomedical products that can use the same platform as that of production of vaccines, to manufacture pharmaceutical diagnostics and health products and technologies (HPTs) including rapid diagnostic test kits, assistive devices and specialized HPTs for cancer and gene therapy, to support technology transfer and commercialization of research outputs from research institutions, colleges, and universities; and to support local pharmaceutical industries in development and production of quality and affordable products. To attain its mandate, KBI needs to adequately plan to ensure all operations are anchored in a comprehensive and implementable strategic plan.