At the site, Sinovac Beijing is expecting to manufacture the enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine, which causes hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), and its other currently marketed flu vaccines.
Sinovac Beijing said that the initial payment of $8.3m will be paid before February 20, 2010 and the balance of the purchase price will be paid in three installments within three years.
Sinovac Beijing is acquiring five existing buildings with a total built- out area of 32,322.66 square meters on 29,021.61 square meters of land, located in Changping District, Beijing. The site was previously used to manufacture medicinal products.
Sinovac plans to set up two new production lines with a combined annual production capacity of approximately 40 million doses, a filling and packaging line, a warehouse and an animal house.
Weidong Yin, chairman, president and CEO of Sinovac, said: “The Changping site will enable us to expand our production capacity, as the site will house two production lines and other necessary supporting functions. We anticipate that it will take approximately two to three years for the lines to be set up and production of our commercialised flu vaccines to commence.
“These facilities will also support our growth objectives though the introduction of novel products by housing the production lines for our EV71 vaccine, which is currently being studied under the first clinical trial application for an HFMD vaccine submitted in China. If approved, it will be the first vaccine or antiviral treatment available for HFMD worldwide.”