HANOI (Reuters) – French pharmaceutical company Sanofi said on Tuesday it was exploring opportunities for producing vaccines in Vietnam in cooperation with local partner Vietnam Vaccine Company (VNVC), which announced plans to build a new plant.
VNVC launched its plans to set up a plant in the southern province of Long An at a ceremony attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was on a visit to Vietnam, and Sanofi officials.
Sanofi and VNVC on Monday signed an agreement on technology transfer.
“The cooperation agreement between Sanofi and Vietnam Vaccine Company aims to explore opportunities for local vaccine production in Vietnam, as part of Sanofi’s ongoing commitment to improving vaccine access in the country,” Sanofi said in a statement on Tuesday.
The plant is projected to produce 100 million vaccine doses annually for domestic use and export, with operations expected to begin by the end of 2027, VNVC said.
The facility spans 2.6 hectares (6.4 acres) and has received an initial investment of 2 trillion dong ($77.19 million), VNVC said in a statement in response to a query from Reuters, but did not say which vaccines would be produced there.
($1 = 25,911.0000 dong)
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Martin Petty and Susan Fenton)
