FMD vaccine prices are now under investigation in South Africa
PRETORIA — Allegations that foot and mouth disease vaccines may have been sold at inflated prices during South Africa’s battle against its worst FMD outbreak have triggered an investigation and the precautionary suspension of the acting head of state owned Onderstepoort Biological Products.
Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp called an urgent meeting with the OBP board after receiving information alleging serious misconduct involving vaccine pricing. Acting chief executive Dr Jacob Modumo was subsequently placed on precautionary suspension while the allegations are investigated.
The suspension is not a finding of wrongdoing against Modumo, and the investigation will have to establish whether vaccines were improperly marked up, who authorised the pricing and whether government or farmers suffered financial losses.
The allegations are particularly serious because South Africa has committed substantial public resources to containing FMD. Government and the private sector have imported more than 23 million vaccine doses, while the national vaccination programme has reached livestock across all nine provinces.
Earlier this year, government announced that the state would cover the full cost of vaccines administered through the national programme. In April, it also confirmed an order for five million doses from Argentina’s Biogénesis Bagó through OBP, alongside millions of doses sourced from Turkish manufacturer Dollvet.
The Democratic Alliance has welcomed Aucamp’s intervention, arguing that farmers already facing the financial consequences of the outbreak should not carry additional costs resulting from potentially excessive vaccine pricing.
Agricultural organisation Saai has gone further, calling for an investigation into whether there was unlawful profiteering in transactions involving government institutions and saying any improperly obtained profits should be recovered if wrongdoing is established.
The organisation has also raised questions about the previous single channel arrangement for importing and distributing Biogénesis Bagó vaccines through OBP. Earlier this year, OBP and the Argentine manufacturer signed a distribution agreement intended to secure South Africa’s vaccine supply.
The investigation now places the pricing of those critical vaccines under scrutiny at a sensitive point in the national response. There have recently been signs of progress, including the North West recording its first week without a new FMD case since December 2025.
What remains unanswered is whether vaccine prices were actually inflated, by how much, who ultimately carried any additional cost and whether public money can be recovered if the investigation establishes misconduct.
Anyone with additional information can contact the press desk at press@townpress.co.za.