A defining moment for African health and scientific independence was announced at the 4th International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2025), as Dei BioPharma Founder Dr. Matthias Magoola revealed that the company has secured new patent rights for innovative Ebola and Mpox vaccines.
This achievement marks a fundamental shift, demonstrating that high-impact biomedical innovation can originate, be owned, and be advanced entirely within Africa.
The announcement firmly positions Dei BioPharma as a trailblazer ready to address the continent’s critical reliance on imported health technologies.
Ready to be Africa’s Continental CDMO
Delivering a keynote address during a session on “Charting Success: The Journey of an African Entrepreneur,” Dr. Magoola issued a strong call to action, urging African nations to rally behind his firm as it seeks to be designated the continent’s primary Contract Drug Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO).
“We are ready to become the Continental CDMO for APIs, Biologics, Vaccines, Oncology, mRNA, Cell and Gene therapy,” Dr. Magoola stated.
“We urge all African nations and authorities to rally behind us, and we are ready to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Africa CDC to be designated as a continental CDMO,” he added.
The Africa CDC has already shown significant interest, with its technical team scheduled to inspect Dei BioPharma’s sprawling Drugs and Vaccines Manufacturing Facility being developed at the Matugga campus near Kampala. Dr. Magoola expressed confidence that his firm can drastically accelerate the Africa CDC’s goal of having 60% of vaccines used in Africa manufactured on the continent by 2040, cutting the projected 15-year timeline down to just 7 years.
Power of African-Owned mRNA Innovation
The new patents for the Ebola and Mpox vaccines are more than scientific recognitions; they are strategic tools for continental empowerment. The innovations utilise cutting-edge messenger RNA (mRNA) technology to encode the respective virus glycoproteins in a lipid-nanoparticle formulation.
Key features of the patented vaccines:
Speed and Scalability
The mRNA platform can be manufactured rapidly without the use of live viruses, enabling a faster response to outbreaks like Ebola and Mpox and significantly reducing dependence on external suppliers.
Scientific Independence
As Dr. Magoola explained, the patent is a “transformative milestone that affirms Africa’s capacity to invent, protect, and advance world-class biomedical technologies.”
Economic Strategy
The patents reinforce Dei BioPharma’s strategy of reinvesting intellectual property value into domestic research, regional capacity building, and job creation, thereby building a self-sustaining ecosystem.
“For decades, Africa has relied on imported health technologies developed elsewhere. Today, we move from dependency to self-determination. Africa is no longer waiting for solutions; it is creating them,” Dr. Magoola declared.
R&D: The Missing Link in Health Sovereignty
The conference dialogue was amplified by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Monica Musenero, who strongly advocated for increased investment in Research and Development (R&D), describing it as the “missing link” in Africa’s economic and health transformation.
Minister Musenero challenged African scientists to move beyond basic research and translate scientific knowledge into profitable industries. She cautioned that without domestic R&D for inputs, from vials to machines, local manufacturing efforts may inadvertently damage the economy through excessive imports.
This sentiment was echoed by Raji Tajudeen, the Deputy Director-General of Africa CDC, who stressed that true health independence would only be achieved through sustained investment in R&D and manufacturing capacity.
“It took millions of deaths during COVID-19 for us to realise we lacked the capacity for research and vaccine production. A continent of 1.5 billion people should not be manufacturing only one per cent of its vaccines,” he lamented.
Dei BioPharma’s achievement, backed by Dr. Magoola’s commendable record of over one hundred patents filed across oncology, infectious diseases, and advanced therapeutic modalities, provides a tangible example of the scientific independence that can be achieved when African innovation is strategically supported.
The new patents pave the way for advancing mRNA platforms adaptable to other endemic threats like Marburg and Lassa fever, cementing Uganda’s role as a cornerstone of Africa’s biomanufacturing future.