CBN To Release Funds For Research And Production Of COVID-19 Vaccine, Others

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that it will disburse funds to relevant companies in the healthcare sector looking to research and manufacture vaccines, drugs or herbal medicines that could stop further spread of COVID-19 and any other communicable or non-communicable diseases in Nigeria.

The CBN stated that the health fund is for its new initiative "Healthcare Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme (HSRDIS)" which was launched to strengthen Nigeria's response to infectious diseases and "boost domestic manufacturing of critical drugs and vaccines to ensure their sustainable domestic supply and reduce the bulk manufacturing costs of the drugs, herbal medicines and vaccines in Nigeria." a statement obtained from CBN and seen by AllNews said.

Companies Qualified For The Fund

AllNews learnt that the companies that will benefit from the healthcare research and development funds are biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies, institutions, researchers, and research institutes for the research and development of drugs, herbal medicines and vaccines for the control, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

The companies in the aforementioned field that apply for the fund will receive N50 million for research activities and N500 million for development/Manufacturing activities if application is approved by Body of Expert (BOE) who will be selected from different agencies by CBN. The fund will be taken from the Developmental Component of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (MSMEDF).

The funds will be disbursed in tranches based on approved milestones achieved. Meanwhile, the timeframe stipulated for the research activities is not more than two years from the date of fund release, but development or manufacturing activities is stipulated for not more than one year from the date of fund release.

What You Need To Know

While addressing how CBN will determine the disbursement of funds, the apex body in its statement said, "Candidate vaccines undergoing pre-clinical testing or trials shall not be eligible for consideration under the Scheme." However, candidate vaccines that are undergoing clinical testing or trials shall be eligible "if considered to have high potential to cross the clinical trial stage and prospects of scale by the Body of Experts (BoE)."

CBN To Take Control Over Reseach And Vaccines

CBN said it will have proprietary right over the products researched and manufactured by the healthcare companies that secured funding from the apex bank, "The CBN shall have proprietary right over all financed R&D outcomes or products.

"Equally, licensing protocol for the mass manufacturing of developed drugs, phytomedicines and vaccines shall be defined by the BoE in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP).