In Neuville sur Saône in eastern France, Sanofi will build its Evolutive Vaccine Facility (EVF) with an investment of €490m over a five-year period. The vaccine production site will use the latest innovative production technologies, said the French pharma company.
The Neuville sur Saône facility is expected to generate 200 new jobs and will enable the company’s vaccine division Sanofi Pasteur to secure vaccine supplies in the event of new pandemics.
According to the company, Evolutive Vaccine Facility is a new type of factory which will feature a central unit for housing various fully digital production modules for enabling the production of three to four vaccines simultaneously.
Sanofi said that based on public health issues, the modularity of the facility will make it possible to prioritise the production of a specific vaccine in a more timely manner.
On the other hand, the French pharma company will build the new research centre at the Sanofi Pasteur site in Marcy-l’Etoile with an investment of €120m for developing future vaccines.
The new vaccine research centre will be a digital facility that will have highly specialised laboratories for facilitating the development of vaccines against emerging diseases and pandemic risks, said the French pharma group.
Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said: “By investing in a new industrial site and a R&D center, Sanofi positions France at the core of its strategy, aiming to make France a world-class center of excellence in vaccine research and production.
“Sanofi is a major healthcare player in France, in Europe, and worldwide. It is our responsibility to focus our resources and expertise against the current pandemic, but also to invest in preparing for future ones.
“We welcome the ongoing collaboration and commitment of the French authorities who we have been working alongside with the last several months to achieve this.”
In April GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said that it has joined forces with Sanofi for developing an adjuvanted vaccine for Covid-19.