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 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.

A crucial aspect of such training is the hands-on experience provided at a real biomanufacturing facility. The GTH-B will operate four batches of hands-on training utilizing public biomanufacturing facilities in the Republic of Korea. One of those is mRNA training program, a 7-week course (comprising a 3-week pre-training online module), held at the Korean National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (K-NIBRT), along with field visits to the Hwasun area (Korean Vaccine Center for Assisting Safety & Technology (K-VCAST)) and the Osong area (K-Bio or Ministry of Food and Drug Safety). The training targets 20 participants and focuses on mRNA vaccine manufacturing and regulatory affairs.

These programs not only offer practical training in biomanufacturing and analytical techniques but also prepare participants to meet industry demands. 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.