Twenty African participants have completed theoretical and hands-on training in the “Upstream Production of Recombinant Proteins in Prokaryotic Expression Systems” course, as part of the Southern African Biomanufacturing Training Hub (SABTH) on Friday, 18 September 2026 at the CSIR Scientia campus in Pretoria.
SABTH is hosted at the CSIR and aims to strengthen biomanufacturing capabilities in Southern Africa with support from KfW Development Bank.
Frances O’Brien, a CSIR senior engineer who facilitated this course, says, “This course covered the upstream production workflow, including microorganism screening and selection, preservation techniques, inoculum train development and bioreactor cultivation, with practical exposure at 30-litre scale.”
This hybrid programme combined online lectures and on-site practical training and demonstrations, providing participants with both the theoretical foundation and hands-on experience required for recombinant protein production.
Currently, Africa manufactures only about 1% of the vaccines it uses, while the continent has set an ambitious target of significantly increasing local vaccine manufacturing by 2040. Achieving this requires manufacturing facilities, technologies and a substantially expanded pool of experienced and technically capable professionals.
In a keynote address at the certificate hand-over event, Lara Kotzé-Jacobs, CSIR Programme Manager, said, “Africa’s biomanufacturing ambitions ultimately depend on people. Facilities, technologies and investment can create the infrastructure, but it is skilled and experienced professionals who will operate these systems, maintain quality and translate manufacturing technologies into sustainable production.”
The course directly contributes to this skills-development imperative by providing participants with practical exposure to key upstream bioprocessing operations.
“Closing the gap between the approximately 3 000 personnel currently available and the estimated 14 000 capable staff required is therefore a critical priority. Training programmes such as these are an important part of building the workforce needed to turn Africa’s local vaccine manufacturing ambitions into reality by 2040,” adds Kotzé-Jacobs.
The completion of this course marks another step towards building a skilled workforce capable of supporting Africa’s growing biomanufacturing ambitions, from upstream processing and vaccine production to the broader development of regional health manufacturing capabilities.
Click here for upcoming courses offered by SABTH.
Published 5 October 2026