Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) face significant inequities in terms of access to vaccines and other biologics and are making efforts to establish biological manufacturing within their regions. Establishing such manufacturing capacity, through bilateral technology transfer or local Research and Development (R&D) efforts, is often hindered by the lack of a trained workforce in biomanufacturing.

To address this gap and build biomanufacturing capacity in LMICs, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) of the Republic of Korea established the Global Training Hub for Biomanufacturing (GTH-B). The hub's mandate is to provide training in the manufacturing of high-quality vaccines and biologics in an industrial setting, aiming to resolve inequality in access to vaccines and biologics worldwide by expanding manufacturing capacity in LMICs.

There is an urgent need for developing countries to improve vaccine access by developing local biomanufacturing capabilities, which are hindered by a shortage of trained personnel. GTH-B is helping these countries by providing essential biomanufacturing training, aiming to expand the technical know-how and capability for sustainable vaccine R&D and manufacture in LMICs by facilitating vaccine manufacturing apprenticeships.

To effectively deliver essential bioprocessing skills and knowledge, the program is structured into pre-online and hands-on practical training. Participants will first complete a pre-online course to learn the foundational theories of biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This will be followed by on-site practical training, providing direct experience in microbial bioprocessing for plasmid construction and recombinant protein production, as well as industry-standard quality control procedures.

The hands-on training will be jointly provided by the GBC (Global Bio Campus) and K-NIBRT. Targeting 50 individuals Participants will spend two weeks at each respective facility for an in-depth practicum focused on GMP manufacturing of protein therapeutics through microbial bioprocessing. The GBC will oversee the cell culture and purification processes, while K-NIBRT will lead the training on fill-and-finish and analysis. This comprehensive approach ensures that participants develop practical competencies across all four core stages of biopharmaceutical production.  By enhancing the skills of the workforce, this initiative strengthens the healthcare infrastructure of LMICs, fostering self-reliance and contributing to a more equitable global healthcare system.