Announcement of Upcoming Launch of Access to Advanced Health Institute and The AAAH Coalition

Institute focused on development of next generation vaccines and immunotherapeutics to play key role in coalition to bring advanced healthcare products to Africa

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today the Access to Advanced Health Institute (AAHI) announced its upcoming launch and central role in a new global coalition, Africa’s Access to Advanced Healthcare (AAAH). The mission of The AAAH Coalition is to facilitate access to innovative vaccines and cancer immunotherapies by establishing production facilities for advanced biologics in sub-Saharan Africa, to conduct innovative research and discovery in next-generation immune-enhancing medical products, and to build the capacity for research and manufacturing throughout Africa.

Based in Seattle, Washington, AAHI will serve as a hub for innovation in vaccine and cancer immunotherapy research and development, early-phase GMP manufacturing, and training the next generation of scientists and manufacturing personnel to achieve The AAAH Coalition's mission. With the benefit of decades of scientific innovation at Seattle's Infectious Disease Research Institute, AAHI will contribute the high-quality science of an academic research organization with the product-development capabilities of a biotech company. Consistent with The AAAH Coalition's shared vision that "From Compassion and Collaboration Come Change," AAHI will play a key role in leading the Coalition's collaborations to create products that improve lives in both low- and high-resource regions of Africa. AAHI’s footprint and partnerships will extend beyond the United States and into Africa with the formation of several new institutes across Africa, including South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda.

AAHI and its sibling institutes will collaborate with numerous academic institutions such as the University of Washington, Duke University, Emory University, and Baylor University in the United States and the University of Cape Town, University of Witwatersrand, and University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. AAHI is supported by generous funding from the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation. The AAAH Coalition is supported through several billion rand funding from Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NantWorks, and from the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation.

In a press event held earlier today in Cape Town (10:30am SAST), President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, joined Dr. Soon-Shiong and Dr. Corey Casper to announce the creation of The AAAH Coalition, the launch of AAHI, and the Coalition's collective commitment to expand research and product development, including ongoing research into a universal, second generation COVID vaccine. The event also featured the unveiling of a new, state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing facility, financed with hundreds of millions rand investment from Dr. Soon-Shiong.

“The scientific, manufacturing, and capacity-building expertise of AAHI is essential to ensuring the success of AAAH’s mission to provide equitable access to essential health services across Africa,” said Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D. “As both a native of South Africa, and a physician and researcher dedicated to healing, I am deeply committed to transforming Africa’s medical defenses and helping the continent achieve self-reliance and contribute to global medical innovation. With the technologies and facilities AAHI brings to the AAAH coalition, we can transform that commitment into real change for the people of Africa."

Corey Casper, MD, MPH, CEO of AAHI said, “AAHI will be able to build upon nearly three decades of extraordinary science to accelerate product development and manufacturing to achieve the expanded mission and goals shared by The AAAH Coalition. Our name, Access to Advanced Health Institute, reflects our ongoing emphasis on advancing science that enables global access to effective, efficient, broad, and durable preventive and therapeutic solutions. Together with The AAAH Coalition, we hope to offer new solutions to providing every person across the globe with access to the latest advances in immune science to prevent disease, maintain health, and live longer and more productive lives.”

AAHI will launch in Q1 2022. To learn more about AAHI, visit www.aahi.org.