Biovac starts trials on South Africa’s first domestically developed cholera vaccine

JOHANNESBURG — South African researchers and scientists launched clinical trials on Tuesday on the first vaccine developed in the country.

The oral cholera vaccine, developed by Cape Town-based pharmaceutical company Biovac, is currently undergoing trials to determine its safety in adults and will be followed by trials to compare it to existing cholera vaccines already on the market.

Depending on the results, the vaccine could be approved and ready for use in Africa by 2028, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.

The development of the vaccine has been hailed as an important step for access to the vaccine in the country and the rest of the continent.

Motsoaledi said that although South Africa was experiencing relatively low levels of cholera, many countries in Africa, often hit hard by outbreaks, would benefit greatly. He said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed how African countries were vulnerable to pandemics as they depended on imported vaccines.

South Africa often experiences cholera outbreaks due to cross-border movements. Other causes include the lack of clean water in communities such as Hammanskraal in the capital Pretoria, where the supply of clean water remains a major problem.

A 2023 cholera outbreak resulted in 47 deaths and more than 1,400 reported cases, but neighboring countries like Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have seen much higher cases and deaths.

“When we can research, develop and manufacture vaccines locally, we reduce our vulnerability to supply chain disruptions, geopolitical pressures, international market competition and vaccine nationalism, which was apparent at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Motsoaledi said.

The trials are taking place in the provinces of Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, where cases of cholera have already been reported.

“This development addresses a critical and vital need, given the current global vaccine shortage amid recurring cholera outbreaks,” said Morena Makhoana, CEO of Biovac.

Lerato Maleka, 44, who is one of the first participants in the clinical trial, said she signed up because of South Africa’s water problems.

“I haven’t had cholera, but we know that sometimes they don’t keep the water on and people have died of cholera in Hammanskraal from drinking water, so I wanted to be safe from that,” Maleka said.

She said although there had never been an outbreak where she lives in Diepkloof, Soweto, they often had to boil the tap water because it was not clean.

Shadrack Makutu, 37, a resident of Limpopo province, is another participant who previously experienced an outbreak in his village of Bushbuckridge.

“I know people who share water with animals, so I know a few people who have been affected by this cholera,” Makutu said.

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 4 million people worldwide are affected by cholera each year, and between 21,000 and 143,000 people die from it each year.

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