Aspen Pharmacare
South African multinational drugmaker headquartered in Durban.
Aspen's Gqeberha line finished Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine from 2021 but drew no African orders by 2022; on 27 August 2026 CEPI awarded Egypt's Minapharm up to $16.5m for a Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine.
Last refreshed: 4 October 2026
Timeline for Aspen Pharmacare
Finished J&J's COVID-19 vaccine
Pandemics and Biosecurity: Mentioned in: CEPI awards Minapharm US$16.5m for EbolaBackground
Aspen Pharmacare is a South African multinational drugmaker, headquartered in Durban. Stephen Saad, Gus Attridge and Steve Sturlese founded it there in 1997, and it listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1998. Saad serves as group chief executive.
From March 2021 Aspen filled and finished Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine at its sterile plant in Gqeberha, and in March 2022 it licensed the vaccine under its own brand, Aspenovax, for sale in Africa. Donated doses had already filled African demand, so by Aspen's own account in 2022 not one order arrived and the Gqeberha line sat idle. In August 2022 it agreed with the Serum Institute of India to make four routine vaccines for Africa.
In August 2026 CEPI funded Minapharm to make a Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine in Cairo, the first of CEPI's five Bundibugyo candidates with an African manufacturer.
Aspen's licence drew no African orders
On 27 August 2026 CEPI awarded Egypt's Minapharm up to $16.5m to carry a Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine into its first human trial. Aspen had licensed Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine as Aspenovax in March 2022, yet by its own account that year no African buyer placed an order.
Minapharm is the first African manufacturer among CEPI's five Bundibugyo candidates, and Moderna's rival shot entered human testing in Canada on 3 August 2026, so Cairo begins behind. Aspen's Gqeberha plant had a licence and a sterile line in 2022, but no committed purchaser, and the line sat idle. In August 2022 Aspen turned to routine vaccines under a deal with the Serum Institute of India.