The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has granted approval for Ghana to produce life-saving anti-snake venom, addressing a critical need for individuals bitten by snakes.

Snakebites can be fatal when the necessary serum is unavailable, and efforts have been made by industry stakeholders to develop vaccines.

This green light for the production of anti-snake venom in Ghana comes after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Atlantic Lifesciences, a Ghanaian company, and Vins Bioproducts Limited, an Indian company. The agreement paves the way for the commencement of fill and finish production of anti-snake venom in Ghana, capable of neutralizing bites from more than 19 different snake species.

This development aligns with the government's goal of establishing Ghana as a key vaccine manufacturing hub in the African sub-region.

During the MoU signing in Accra, Dhananjay Tripathi, the CEO of Atlantic Lifesciences, emphasized that Ghana would become the first West African country to produce and package anti-snake venom for both local use and export.

Siddarth Daga, the Executive Director of Vins Bioproducts Limited, expressed satisfaction with the collaboration with Atlantic Lifesciences, stating that the MoU would benefit all parties involved.

Delese Mimi Darko, the CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), confirmed that the FDA had granted approval for the production of anti-snake venom.

“Anti-venoms are critical vaccine commodities which are often out of stock in Ghana and other regions, leading to unavoidable deaths.

“There are several initiatives globally and nationally underway to increase access to anti-venoms, both here and in the rest of the world,” the CEO of FDA stated.

“This MoU will mark the beginning of several such agreements between local manufacturers and giant pharmaceutical industries to help support manufacturers towards self-sustainability and supply in Ghana and to export to many countries. Everything we test in our laboratory is worldwide,” she stated.

One of the top manufacturers of vaccinations is Vins Bioproducts Limited.