Wockhardt in talks with global vaccine firms for contract manufacturing

UK site would fill-finish 100 mn doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, has 350 mn dose capacity; Aurangabad can make has 1 bn doses, vaccine raw materials

Mumbai-based drugmajor Wockhardt said it is in talks with global vaccine makers for contract manufacturing drug substances for making vaccines as well as do the fill and finish doses out of its Indian site which has a capacity for one billion doses annually. 

Drug substances are the raw material for making vaccines. 

Meanwhile, the UK government has already reserved one fill and finish production line the company has in the UK for its exclusive use for 18 months in order to guarantee the supply of vaccines required to fight against COVID-19, the company said. This would be a fill and finish facility and would  bulk vaccine from vaccine manufacturers such as AstraZeneca and fill it into vials at its plant before shipping it for vaccination. On Monday, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Wockhardt's Wrexham site to review the preparation.

The UK site has a capacity of 350 million doses and if it is utilised in full capacity, then would fetch business worth $100 million or so. In the initial phase, the UK site will produce 100 million doses per annum of AstraZeneca-University of Oxford's Covid-19 vaccine.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Habil Khorakiwala, Chairman of Wockhardt said,"We are in discussions with a number of vaccine developers." He added that the company is also considering collaborations that involve contract manufacturing but also vaccine distribution in India and some emerging markets. Wockhardt's Aurangabad site can make biological drugs that can be used to make certain types of vaccines.  

 The company works on expression platforms such as yeast, e-coli and mamallian cells to produce biologic products. These are the platforms used by the vaccine makers to make vaccines too. 

Global players like US-based Moderna may look at having Indian partners who can fill and finish their vaccines (and they can ship the drug substances here or transfer the technology) and also offer help in distribution. Moderna's vaccine can be stored at normal fridge temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius for 30-days and it can be stored up to six months at -20 degree Celsius. Therefore, having a local partner would enhance India's control over vaccine distribution. 

Khorakiwala refused to divulge names of global players that it is in discussions with. He, however, clarified that to make vaccines, no major capital expenditure was required at the India site. Once the vaccine developer transfers its technology, Wockhardt can tweak its systems and begin manufacturing. 

Khorakiwala said that currently there is an existing manufacturing capacity to make 5-6 billion doses while there is need for 15 billion doses or so to vaccinate the entire global population. Wockhardt thus sees an opportunity in supplying vaccines that have been developed by someone else.