UK bolsters vaccine manufacturing capacity with Wockhardt deal

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Germany’s leading infectious disease institute said today a first vaccine against coronavirus could be available as early as autumn but warned that it may take longer to control the pandemic.

The government has today taken further steps to bolster its vaccine manufacturing capacity by striking a deal with Indian pharma giant Wockhardt.

Under the 18-month long agreement, the Mumbai-listed firm will carry out the ‘fill and finish’ stage of the manufacturing process, which involves dispensing the manufactured vaccine substance into vials ready for it to be distributed.

According to chairman Habil Khorakiwala, the firm has the capacity to make 400m doses of the vaccine in the UK, and 600m in India.

The fill and finish line is expected to start in September 2020, a statement from the government said. 

It will take place at CP Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Wockhardt, based in Wrexham, North Wales, which has the capacity to finish millions of coronavirus vaccine doses.

Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Vaccines Taskforce, said: “discovering a successful vaccine is only part of the solution, we also need to be able to manufacture it.

“Fill and finish is a critical step in the process to get the vaccine in a form to be given to patients. 

“The agreement with Wockhardt will boost our capability to ensure that from the moment a successful vaccine is identified we will be able to produce the quantities of vaccine required, as quickly as possible, for the people who need it.”

The deal with Wockhardt complements the new £93m Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, which is currently under construction in Oxfordshire.

The government has thus far done a number of deals with pharmaceutical firms to secure a ready supply of a number of potential vaccines.

The Oxford University vaccine, which will be manufactured in partnership with Astrazeneca, is seen as one of the frontrunners in a global race to find a treatment for the disease.

The government has ordered 100m doses of the potential vaccine. It has also secured 60m doses of Glaxosmithkline’s vaccine, which it is developing with French drugs firm Sanofi.

Shares in Wockhardt jumped 10 per cent on the back of the deal.