Sanofi to Invest €170M for Flu Vaccine Manufacturing Site Expansion
French drugmaker, Sanofi has now committed €170 million to expand a vaccine manufacturing site in Val de Reuil, France. The expansion further strengthens Sanofi’s position as one of the world’s leading seasonal flu vaccine providers.
Once completed, the revamped Val de Reuil facility will be the only site of its kind in France, with Sanofi Pasteur remaining the sole influenza vaccine producer in the country. Expansion work is expected to be completed by 2021, subject to relevant approvals, with the production of vaccines at the facility to commence in 2022.
The goal is to increase the supply of VaxigripTetra, a quadrivalent flu vaccine that provides protection against two influenza A strains (H1N1 and H3N2) and two B strains (Victoria and Yamagata), complying with WHO recommendations. Approved last year, the vaccine is already available in 20 European countries. With the construction of the new facilities, Sanofi wants to expand the distribution of VaxigripTetra to up to 70 countries around the world.
This investment is one of several major capital expenditures the company has made in recent years to improve and expand its vaccine production capacities across France, the United States, and Mexico. The new Val
de Reuil facility will be the only site of its kind in France, leaving Sanofi Pasteur as the sole influenza vaccine producer in that country, according to the company.The Val de Reuil manufacturing site covers all the steps involved in manufacturing a vaccine: antigen production, formulation, stages of pharmaceutical preparation (filling, inspection and packaging), and quality control. The site also includes the company’s global vaccine distribution center and ships around 900 million vaccine doses worldwide each year.
“Influenza continues to be a major public health problem around the world, causing serious complications, hospitalizations and deaths, mostly for certain high-risk individuals,” said David Loew, Executive Vice President, Sanofi, and Head of Sanofi Pasteur. “As a global leader in flu vaccines, this expansion reinforces Sanofi Pasteur’s ability to tackle this underestimated health challenge.”
“This project brings together the expertise of our people with our leading industrial know-how and illustrates our commitment to manufacturing excellence solutions,” said Philippe Luscan, executive vice president, Global Industrial Affairs, Sanofi, in a company press release. “Our investment underlines Sanofi’s intent to strengthen our industrial capacities in France as a major center of influenza vaccines production for worldwide markets.“
