South Africa suspends OBP acting CEO over FMD vaccine pricing

SOUTH AFRICA – The board of Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) has suspended acting CEO Dr Jacob Modumo following allegations of serious misconduct linked to the pricing of foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines, as South Africa continues to battle its worst FMD outbreak.

Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp confirmed the suspension after convening an urgent meeting with the OBP board on Friday. 

Modumo has been given five days to provide reasons why the suspension should not remain in place, after which an independent investigation could follow.

The allegations concern the pricing of FMD vaccines imported by the state-owned vaccine supplier. 

GroundUp reported that OBP allegedly purchased vaccines from Argentina-based Biogénesis Bagó at R45 per dose and sold them to farmers for between R70 and R130. 

The allegation has not been proven, and Aucamp stressed that the suspension is precautionary and does not constitute a finding against Modumo.

Vaccine costs and access under scrutiny

OBP imports and sells FMD vaccines to farms and is not intended to operate these sales for profit. South Africa currently sources most of its FMD vaccines from Biogénesis Bagó and Turkey-based Dollvet.

Aucamp said OBP has an obligation to act in the public interest and that farmers should not face excessive vaccine markups while carrying the financial burden of the country’s FMD outbreak.

“Given that South Africa is experiencing the largest FMD outbreak in the country’s history,” the minister said, government has a responsibility to ensure vaccines are procured and made available as cost-effectively and efficiently as possible.

The issue comes as vaccine access remains central to South Africa’s efforts to contain FMD and protect cattle production. 

The country has about 12-14 million cattle, requiring roughly 25 million vaccine doses annually if animals are vaccinated twice a year for optimal protection. 

Biogénesis Bagó and Dollvet have the capacity to supply these volumes, according to GroundUp.

The vaccine supply system has also changed to a legal dispute between farmer organisations and the Department of Agriculture. 

In May, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria issued an interim ruling allowing farms to purchase vaccines directly. 

Under an agreement subsequently reached with Aucamp, farmers can now obtain vaccines through veterinarians and must provide the department with details on how the vaccines are used.

South Africa has also restarted limited domestic FMD vaccine production through the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) at Onderstepoort. 

However, current output remains small compared with national requirements, with production in the tens or hundreds of thousands of doses so far this year.

The pricing allegations therefore add another pressure point to a vaccine system where availability, affordability and traceability are critical to protecting cattle herds and limiting further spread of FMD.

The OBP board’s investigation will determine whether the allegations against Modumo are substantiated.

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