Wockhardt wins UK govt deal on Coronavirus vaccine manufacturing

Mumbai: Mumbai-headquartered pharmaceutical company Wockhardt on Monday announced that it has entered into an agreement with the UK government to fill-finish millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

As per the terms of the agreement, the company has reserved manufacturing capacity to allow for the supply of multiple vaccines to the UK government in its fight against Covid-19, including AZD1222, the vaccine co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech and licensed by AstraZeneca.

The manufacturing will be undertaken at CP Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Wockhardt based in Wrexham, North Wales.

"We are proud to be collaborating with the UK Government to make vaccines available and the arrangement brings in a huge sense of purpose and pride, it upholds our ongoing commitment to fight against such a pandemic of global human importance," Habil Khorakiwala, Chairman of Wockhardt, said in a statement.

"As a global organisation, we are focussed and committed to assist in mitigating the worldwide impact of Covid-19."

Following the announcement, shares of Wockhardt rose 10 per cent on close of Monday's trade.

"Today we have secured additional capacity to manufacture millions of doses of multiple Covid-19 candidates, guaranteeing the supply of vaccines we need to protect people across the UK rapidly and in large numbers," said Alok Sharma, the UK's Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

In India, Pune's Serum Institute of India (SII) has received approval from the regulator to conduct clinical trials of Oxford University-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the country.