South Africa’s Renergen has patented cryogenic cases that can keep vaccines at ultra-cold temperatures for 30 days, a potential way of getting some of the first coronavirus shots to be approved to remote areas, said CEO Stefano Marani.

Renergen’s design uses helium to keep the vaccines at between -70°C and -150°C without the need for a power supply, Marani said in an interview on Wednesday. It could be used to transport inoculations to remote parts of Africa and Southeast Asia, he said.

“We built this with the African market in mind,” said Marani. “This isn’t to move the vaccine from the factory to the local pharmacies or inner-city transport — this is for Africa and Southeast Asian countries where the logistics and supply chain takes a lot longer to get to a destination.”

Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, which has been approved for use in the UK, must be kept at -70°C for extended periods of time. Moderna’s vaccine must also be kept at ultra-cold temperatures.

The cases are made from aluminium and can transport at least 100 doses of the vaccine. When in its liquid form, helium can stay cold for much longer than dry ice and liquid nitrogen, said Marani. Renergen is in the construction phase of South Africa’s first commercial liquid natural gas plant that will also produce helium, with production starting in the third quarter of 2021.

Depending on where the helium is sourced, the operating cost of the device should be under R1/dose per day, he said. Renergen is seeking partners for the large-scale manufacturing of the cases, said Marani. — (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP