Sanofi to Expand Influenza Vaccine Production Facility

Sanofi announced on Oct. 12, 2017 that it is investing EUR 170 million (US$201 million) to expand a vaccine manufacturing site in Val de Reuil, France, which will include a new facility. The new facility will allow Sanofi Pasteur, Sanofi’s global vaccines business unit, to expand supply of VaxigripTetra, an influenza vaccine, to up to 70 countries in six continents.

The product is a four-strain influenza vaccine, containing two A strains (A/H1N1 and A/H3N2) and two B strains (B/Victoria and B/Yamagata) of influenza virus, as per World Health Organization recommendation. It is a recent addition to the company’s portfolio of influenza vaccines and is currently available in 20 European markets. Additional launches around the world are planned in the years ahead, according to the company.

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 company plans to complete the expansion by 2021, subject to relevant health authority approvals, and expects to start producing vaccines in this new facility in 2022.

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.

"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."

Source: Sanofi