Kenya BioVax Institute Limited (KBI) jobs and careers

About Kenya BioVax Institute Limited (KBI)

The Kenya BioVax Institute (BioVax) is a State agency mandated to manufacture, package and commercialize specialized health products and technologies, including vaccines, therapeutics and other biomedical products. BioVax will lead the country in realizing the dream of locally manufacturing human vaccines. Immunization is a key tool in the control and elimination of life-threatening infectious diseases. Globally, it is known to save 2 to 3 million lives annually. Currently, the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund Supply Division (UNICEF SD) procurement services, through the support of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), is the predominant procurement mechanism of human vaccines for 45 of the 54 countries in Africa, including Kenya. However, for Kenya, the situation changed when the country graduated to become a lower-middle income nation in 2014, which in effect required the gradual weaning of the country from the GAVI support program on vaccine procurement by 2027. This eventuality called for the country to be prepared to either procure or manufacture its own vaccines. In April 2020, after the COVID pandemic breakout, the Ministry of Health tasked KEMRI to take lead in establishing the viability of local vaccine production. KEMRI constituted a technical working group consisting of key stakeholders in the health, medical and public policy sectors. These stakeholders held various engagements and concluded that the option of local vaccine production was viable. After feasibility studies were undertaken, the Kenya Biovax Institute Ltd (KBI) was established and duly registered as a Private Limited Company on 26th September 2021. KBI’s primary mandate is to manufacture, package, and commercialize specialized health products and technologies, including vaccines, therapeutics, and other biomedical products.