Wockhardt announces Covid-19 vaccine partnership with UK government

Indian Pharma giant Wockhardt has teamed up with the UK government to fill-finish Covid-19 vaccines.

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology major Wockhardt said on Monday it has entered into an agreement with the UK Government to fill-finish Covid-19 vaccines.

Fill-finish is the final manufacturing step of putting vaccines into vials or syringes and packaging them. The manufacturing will be undertaken at CP Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Wockhardt based at Wrexham in North Wales. As per the terms of the agreement, Wockhardt 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 spinout company Vaccitech and licensed by AstraZeneca.

"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," said Wockhardt′s Founder Chairman Habil Khorakiwala. "As a global organisation, we are focussed and committed to assist in mitigating the worldwide impact of Covid-19," he said in a statement. Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy at the UK government, said, ensuring that UK has the capability to research, develop and manufacture a safe and effective vaccine is critical in fight against coronavirus.

"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," he said.

In the UK, Wockhardt has been one of the largest suppliers to the National Health Service for over 20 years. It has a presence in Wrexham and employs over 400 people at 6.12 lakh square feet high-tech manufacturing facility.