Pfizer and BioNTech have inked an agreement with South Africa’s Biovac Institute to produce the COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa for the African Union, Pfizer said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE today announced the signing of a letter of intent with The Biovac Institute Ltd, known as Biovac, a Cape Town-based, South African biopharmaceutical company, to manufacture the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for distribution within the African Union,” the statement said. Both companies expect that Biovac’s Cape Town facility will be incorporated in their global vaccine supply chain by the end of 2021, while technical processes and on-site equipment activities will start immediately, the statement added.