Hyderabad: New vaccine facility to come in city

Hyderabad: A new facility with 'substantial capacity' for vaccine manufacturing will be opened in the city soon. A high-level US delegation, led by the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) COO David Marchick, will participate in a signing ceremony this month.

The delegation will visit the city as part of a multi-nation tour to advance DFC investments helping boost global health and expand Covid vaccine production. DFC vice-president of Development Credit Jim Polan and other senior staff will accompany Marchick.

The delegation, which will first visit South Africa, will arrive in the country on October 24 and in Hyderabad, will visit the offices of Biological E. The delegation, according to an official release, will participate in a signing ceremony to open a new facility with substantial capacity for vaccine manufacturing. This work is in support of the commitment by President Joe Biden and his counterparts in the 'Quad' – Australia, India, Japan, and the US, the release stated.

So far, the US has committed to donating 1.1 billion doses of vaccines and has already shipped nearly 200 million doses to developing countries – more doses than the rest of the world combined, the release said, adding the DFC's financial tools were driving growth in vaccine manufacturing capacity in multiple regions, with multiple technologies and within large and small countries.

The DFC's support was projected to facilitate capacity expansion to produce nearly two billion Covid vaccine doses across the globe by 2022-end, with more projects in the pipeline. The agency was also working on expanding access to critical therapeutics and introducing medical equipment designed for low-resource environments, the release said.