On Wednesday at the Ghana EXIM Bank, the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) announced the opening of a state‑of‑the‑art mRNA laboratory within the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, positioning Ghana among only five African countries with this technology.
Dr Sodzi Sodzi‑Tettey, NVI’s CEO, described the milestone as a defining moment for the country’s vaccine ambitions. “This year, the National Vaccine Institute set up a state‑of‑the‑art mRNA laboratory at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, making Ghana only one of five African countries with this cutting‑edge technology,” he told an audience that included Trade Minister Elizabeth Ofosu‑Adjare and Health Minister. “This mRNA laboratory will be launched by the President this year.”
The launch coincided with the unveiling of the Ghana Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Policy (GPMP), a comprehensive framework that covers local raw materials, research and development, contract manufacturing, skills development, academia collaboration, tax incentives, investment financing, market expansion, and vaccine manufacturing. The policy, according to Dr Sodzi‑Tettey, answers the questions funders ask when the NVI seeks capital.
mRNA technology, the platform behind many of the world’s most effective COVID‑19 vaccines, allows scientists to design and produce vaccines rapidly by instructing cells to make specific proteins. For Ghana, the new lab signals a shift from dependence on imported vaccines toward the capacity to develop and manufacture them locally.
Earlier this year, President John Dramani Mahama allocated $50 million to the NVI to support vaccine manufacturing. The institute is also mobilising resources for two private manufacturers, Atlantic Lifesciences and DEK Vaccines Ltd, which need at least $100 million to build and equip their plants.
Dr Sodzi‑Tettey highlighted other recent achievements: in May 2025, the NVI, in partnership with Atlantic Lifesciences, produced Ghana’s first biological product, Snake Venom Anti‑Serum, a major step for the estimated 10,000 snakebite victims in rural areas each year. The country is on track to manufacture Anti‑Tetanus Serum and its first vaccine, the Tetanus Diphtheria vaccine, by 2027.
Atlantic Lifesciences has also been prequalified under the Africa CDC’s Pooled Procurement Mechanism, onboarded as a registered APPM manufacturer for five years, and awarded a contract to supply oxytocin to Africa under the RMNH essential medicines framework.
“We are witnessing the golden era of the pharmaceutical industry in Ghana,” Dr Sodzi‑Tettey said. “In a few years to come, this will be self‑evident.”
With the mRNA lab and the GPMP launch, Ghana is poised to become a regional hub for next‑generation vaccine development, reducing import reliance and boosting local innovation.
