South Africa Covid Vaccine Plant May Shut on a Lack of Orders

• Aspen makes Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 shots in Africa
• South Africa firm says it may have to stop manufacturing

African efforts to produce Covid-19 vaccines on the continent may face a setback amid a dearth of orders for the injections.

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. informed the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention it’s concerned about a lack of requests for Covid-19 vaccines and may close that manufacturing line if nothing changes, the head of the African Union’s public health agency said.

The continent’s biggest drugmaker is making the doses on behalf of Johnson & Johnson at a plant in South Africa and in March said it agreed to make those shots under its own brand. The Durban-based company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.