The mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub: a pilot for transformative change for the common good?

Overview

WHO created the mRNA technology transfer programme (mRNA TT Programme) in mid-2021 to meet requests from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) for support in developing their local vaccine manufacturing capacity and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was initially set up as a technology development Hub in South Africa, that would transfer the technology to several spokes, or technology recipients, in around 15 LMICs.

This case study, conducted in 2022-2023, builds on the vision of the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All to put health, well-being and equity at the centre of the economy, and adopts the Council’s core themes of rethinking value, finance, innovation and capacity in the economy. The study puts forward a bold new value proposition that frames the mRNA TT Programme as a collective effort among participating stakeholders towards resilient epidemic preparedness and response capacity for the common good.  This requires shaping health-industrial research, development and manufacturing ecosystems for health equity, doing more than just fixing the market, and putting the concept of the common good at the centre of all this. The study outlines principles needed to pursue this collective, end-to-end ecosystem, noting that some are already embedded in the evolving nature of the mRNA TT Programme.