Vietnam to produce French vaccines locally

Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC) and French pharmaceutical group Sanofi agreed to produce three new-generation vaccines, 6-in-1, seasonal flu, and meningococcal, in Vietnam, with the first batches expected in 2028.

The agreement was reported to Vietnamese leaders including Tổng Bí thư, Chủ tịch nước Tô Lâm, and French President Emmanuel Macron during a Vietnam-France Business Forum in Paris.

VNVC and Sanofi identified these vaccines as essential for multiple age groups and in high demand within Vietnam, also aligning with the country’s strategic development of advanced biotechnology and biopharmaceutical technologies. VNVC Chairman Ngô Chí Dũng stated that the partnership will allow Vietnam to gradually master the technology needed to produce these new vaccines. The project aims to supply tens of millions of doses annually to the domestic market, and eventually expand to Southeast Asia and global supply chains.

Vietnam will be the first country in Southeast Asia to independently manufacture these advanced vaccines, increasing its ability to respond to epidemics and strengthen its position in the biotechnology value chain. VNVC plans to complete construction of a factory in 2027, begin production in 2028, and commercialize the vaccines in 2029.

The initial phase of the factory will involve an investment of over 2.5 trillion Vietnamese đồng, cover an area of 26,000 square meters, and have a designed capacity of 120 million doses per year, aiming to meet WHO-GMP, EU-GMP, and FDA-cGMP standards. Sanofi’s Stephen Alix expressed his company’s desire to contribute to Vietnam’s goals and help build a more modern biotechnology ecosystem.