The Investment and Privatisation State Minister, Ms Aminah Mukalazi, has directed authorities of Nansana Municipality to, with immediate effect, stop issuing building permits to people owning land near Dei BioPharma Ltd’s medicines and vaccines premises in Matugga.
Ms Mukalazi revealed last week that government is planning to compensate families with properties near the firm to enable a smooth expansion.
After holding a closed-door meeting with the firm’s management, the minister, still acting on orders of the President, met the affected families at the Dei BioPharma premises.
The meeting was attended by various officials, including the firm’s proprietor, Dr Matthias Magoola, the Resident District Commissioner, Charles Lwanga, the area security team and area local leaders led by the Gombe Mayor Mbabazi.
DEI Biopharma Limited is a Uganda-based biotechnology and biopharmaceutical manufacturing enterprise, working to develop and produce advanced biological medicines for African and global markets. Its programmes include biosimilars, novel biologics and messenger RNA-based technologies.
Founded in 2014 by scientist and innovator Dr Magoola, Dei BioPharma has filed more than 100 patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office covering treatments for cancer, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, sickle cell disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
More than 70 of these applications have advanced and have been published by the USPTO, including work on foot-and-mouth disease, guided-RNA cancer therapy, mRNA platforms and biosimilars.
The US Food and Drug Administration has accepted development plans for some products. The National Drug Authority has licensed the Matugga plant, which already makes about nine generic medicines, from six manufacturing lines in operation.
Ms Mukalazi said the government would compensate all residents who own land and property surrounding the Dei Biopharma drug manufacturing plant in Kigoogwa, Matugga, Wakiso District, to allow its expansion.
She said President Museveni directed leaders in Nansana Municipality and Gombe Division to halt further construction within a specified radius.
According to Minister Mukalazi, the President has ordered all relevant government agencies to begin relocating people from this area, because it was already gazetted as an industrial park.
The Minister addressed residents from affected villages of Kigoogwa A and B, Kiryammuli, Wabitembe and Kiryowa, urging them to support the project.
She said it was the responsibility of government, which holds a significant shareholding and interest in Dei Biopharma Ltd, to protect the public, as manufacturing activity does not allow human settlement in the neighbourhood.
Dr Magoola said the pharmaceutical firm could face challenges with international certification if human activity and settlement around the manufacturing campus are not relocated.
‘The law requires that a manufacturing entity of this nature should not have neighbours close. The plant can only be surrounded by security and trees,’ he said.
Once complete, Dei Biopharma plans contract manufacturing for global firms, but first needs US-FDA, EU-EMA and other approvals. Existing homes within the park would block those certifications.
Ms Mukalazi said government valuers will assess both mailo landowners and bibanja holders and cautioned against middlemen. Technical officers were ordered to stop land transfers.
‘The government is coming in peace. We shall work with Dei Biopharma and other ministries to pay all genuine owners,’ she said.