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Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited the state-of-the-art Sapigen Biologix vaccine facility in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, which has been established with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore. The plant is expected to have the capacity to produce eight billion doses of vaccines per annum.
Shanmugaratnam visited Sapigen Biologix (a subsidiary of Bharat Biotech) at its state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing plant--touted to be among the world's largest--an anchor facility located in the Odisha Biotech Park in Andharua, Bhubaneswar. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation that included his top ministerial colleagues and business leaders, said an official statement. Further, the statement added that the Singapore President was welcomed by Dr. Krishna Ella, Founder of Sapigen and Bharat Biotech, Suchitra Ella, Founder and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech, and other senior executives of the firm. The Singapore President took a tour of the manufacturing facilities, following which he held high-level interactions with the leadership of Sapigen Biologix, led by Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella. A plaque in honor of the President's visit to the facility was also unveiled during his visit, the statement added. "We are deeply honoured to welcome the Hon'ble President of Singapore, His Excellency Tharman Shanmugaratnam, to our facility today and are proud to demonstrate the innovative work being done at this expansive multi-vaccine production facility to further accelerate vaccine development and contribute to the health and well-being of people around the world," Ella, Founder of Sapigen Biologix, said. She added, "We thank the Government of Odisha, the Government of India, regulators, and our team for making this world-class, global-scale vaccine production facility a reality. The Sapigen Biologix facility marks our commitment to global public health, affordable vaccines, and strengthening India's self-reliance and pandemic preparedness. There are no vaccine or biotech manufacturing plants between Hyderabad and Arunachal Pradesh. We are extremely proud to be bringing the knowledge-based industry and the first vaccine/biotech manufacturing plant to the eastern part of India. We hope to spur activities in knowledge-based industries in the eastern part of India instead of concentrating them in the southern and western parts of the country." Raches Ella, Managing Director of Sapigen Biologix, said, "On behalf of everyone at Sapigen Biologix, I extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Hon'ble President of Singapore for visiting our facility today. The significance of this project reaches far beyond Odisha. This facility will position Odisha and India on the global map as the largest vaccine production and supply hub--not only for global distribution but also in alignment with our broader vision of fostering regional economic growth, nurturing local talent, and providing sustainable preventive healthcare solutions to communities worldwide." Sapigen Biologix will focus on the production of key vaccines aimed at addressing global health challenges," added Raches Ella, "The first and most significant vaccine to be produced at Sapigen Biologix's cGMP production facility will be the world's second oral cholera vaccine, Hillchol (BBV131). This novel single-strain vaccine marks an important step forward in our efforts to combat cholera worldwide. The timing of this rollout is crucial, given the global shortage of oral cholera vaccines (OCVs), as evidenced by recent deaths in Angola due to pandemic cholera. 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. "The third vaccine to be manufactured at Sapigen Biologix will be the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). In the future, the facility will also produce vaccines for Chikungunya and Zika." Raches added. Shanmugaratnam, the President of the Republic of Singapore, was accompanied by a delegation of ministers and dignitaries. A business delegation also accompanied the President during his visit to the Sapigen Plant. The visit marks the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations with India. Sapigen Biologix, the vaccine manufacturing plant was established in Odisha Biotech Park, with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore envisioned by Krishna Ella, Founder of Sapigen. This state-of-the-art plant is expected to create over 2,000 direct and over 1,500 indirect employment opportunities, further nurturing local talents in Odisha. The plant plans to produce more than 10 different vaccines for diseases like cholera, malaria, etc. The vaccines produced in Sapigen Biologix will be supplied to several parts of the world and will strengthen the name of Odisha and India in the vaccines and biotechnology prowess. (ANI)
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