Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited the vaccine manufacturing facility of Sapigen Biologix, a subsidiary of Bharat Biotech, on Saturday, in Bhubaneswar. Located at the Odisha Biotech Park in Andharua, Bhubaneswar, the recently commissioned facility can produce eight billion doses of vaccines annually.
The maiden facility will produce the world’s second oral cholera vaccine, Hillchol (BBV131). Another important vaccine produced at this facility will be the world’s first licensed malaria vaccine, RTS,S. Developed in partnership with GSK, this vaccine is part of a technology transfer agreement and will primarily be distributed to low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia, aiming to reduce the burden of Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Set up with an investment of ₹1,500 crore, the plant is configured to produce 10 different vaccines.
The President was welcomed by Krishna Ella, Founder of Sapigen and Bharat Biotech; Suchitra Ella, Founder and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech.
The Singapore President took a tour of the manufacturing facilities, following which he held high-level interaction with the leadership of the company.
The Singaporean President was accompanied by a high-level delegation that included his top ministerial colleagues and business leaders. “There are no vaccine or biotech manufacturing plants between Hyderabad and Arunachal Pradesh. This is the first vaccine/biotech manufacturing plant in the Eastern part of the country,” Krishna Ella has said in a statement on Saturday.
“This facility will position Odisha and India on the global map as the largest vaccine production and supply hub. It will focus on the production of key vaccines aimed at addressing global health challenges,” Raches Ella, Managing Director of Sapigen Biologix, said.