Ghana is on the path to manufacturing anti-snake venom, a life-saving serum crucial for individuals bitten by snakes, aiming to mitigate fatalities resulting from the unavailability of this vital antidote.

This development came to light during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Atlantic Lifesciences, a Ghanaian company, and Vins Bioproducts Limited, an Indian firm, marking the initiation of the fill and finish production of anti-snake venom within Ghana.

The anti-snake venom formulation will possess the capability to counteract the effects of over 19 different snake species' bites. This undertaking aligns with the government's aspiration to establish Ghana as a central hub for vaccine production within the African sub-region.

During the event held in Accra, Dhananjay Tripathi, CEO of Atlantic Lifesciences, emphasized that Ghana would become the pioneering West African nation to manufacture and package anti-snake venom for both local use and export.

Siddarth Daga, Executive Director of Vins Bioproducts Limited, expressed his contentment at partnering with Atlantic Lifesciences to produce anti-snake venom in Ghana.

Delese Mimi Darko, CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), disclosed 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. 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.

Vins Bioproducts Limited is a prominent producer of vaccines.