South African billionaire Stephen Saad’s Aspen secures $30 million grant to make vaccines

Mfonobong Nsehe -

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings, a branded pharmaceutical company led by South African billionaire businessman Stephen Saad, has agreed to receive $30 million in funding from the Gates Foundation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

The $30-million grant, which is in line with plans to make vaccines more affordable in Africa, follows a series of discussions with the CEPI and the Gates Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates.

CEPI and the Gates Foundation will each contribute $15 million to the new funding arrangement as part of an effort to make vaccines more accessible in Africa.

Aspen explained that the new funding, which follows its August agreement with the Serum Institute of India, will support the institute’s 10-year agreement while also expanding its supply and sourcing of affordable vaccines manufactured in Africa.

The South African pharmaceutical company stated that the funding arrangement, in addition to supporting the “technology transfer activities” set to begin in early 2023, will help sustain its regional vaccine manufacturing capacity in the face of future outbreaks.

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited is a South African multinational pharmaceutical holding company founded 25 years ago by Saad, who owns a 12.5-percent stake in the drug company worth $470 million.

The group reported a 31-percent increase in headline earnings, the primary profit measure in South Africa, from R11.19 ($0.628) per share to R14.61 ($0.821) per share at the end of its fiscal year in 2022, owing to improved operating margins supported by a lower operating expense base and a strong balance sheet.

Aspen closed a multicurrency credit facility agreement with international lenders totaling €1.26 billion ($1.264 billion) in November to refinance Aspen’s 2018 syndicated loan facilities, which were secured from 28 lenders from the United States, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.