Company:	The Biovac Institute
	Intern:	Venesha Shunmugam
	CV:	B.Pharma Pharmacy Acting Production Manager View Full CV

Company Background

The Biovac Institute is a public-private partnership between the Biovac Consortium and the Department of Health, incorporating the State Vaccine Institute into a commercial company. Its objective is to revitalize the vaccine industry in South Africa by building capacity in all aspects of vaccine manufacture from product for clinical trials to full scale commercial production for local and international markets.

Currently the firm is focused on new product development, including combination vaccines for prevalent diseases in Africa including childhood illnesses; manufacturing services, providing formulation, bulk filling and medical warehousing facilities; and sales and distribution, including imports, packaging and distribution to the private and public healthcare sector.

The Biovac Institute currently employs over 30 scientists and is supported by the Cape Biotech Trust, an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology.

Role of Intern

Venesha manages all the production related activities at the site. She also handles the outsourcing of the formulation and filling of vaccines to Bodene. Lastly, she manages and leads the production team to obtain optimal output and performance.