The School of Chemistry at Wits University in South Africa's (SA) local large-scale production of ionisable lipids, secured a $388 thousand grant to develop vaccine-enabling compounds derived from cashew nutshell liquid, a by product of the cashew industry that is abundant across Africa.

This breakthrough positions Wits and SA as a leader in developing bio-renewable materials for mRNA vaccines.  It also supports the African Union's target of producing 60 percent of the continent's vaccines locally by 2040. Currently, Africa produces only one-percent of the vaccines it uses.

Lulu Gaboo spoke to  the Director of the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit at Wits University Professor Patrick Arbuthnot.