Rwanda Builds Biologic Therapy Facility

Why this is here: A woman with breast cancer in Rwanda died because the monoclonal antibody therapy she needed was too expensive and inconsistently supplied.

In Kigali, Rwanda, Bio Usawa prepares to open a biotechnology manufacturing facility this summer. The company aims to produce biologic therapies for cancer and diabetic macular edema—conditions where treatments exist but access remains limited across Africa.

Many patients, like a 45-year-old woman with breast cancer, die not from untreatable disease but from unavailable medicine. Africa currently records roughly 1.2 million new cancer cases each year and over 700,000 related deaths, with numbers expected to increase.

Bio Usawa hopes to address high costs and unstable supply chains by establishing local manufacturing. However, the facility’s initial capacity and ability to meet the continent’s growing needs remain to be seen, and sustained investment will be crucial. The work to expand access to essential therapies continues.