UAE to begin manufacturing ‘Hayat-Vax’ Covid-19 vaccine

The UAE launched a new project on Sunday to begin manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine within the country.

The “Life Sciences and Vaccine Manufacturing in the UAE” is a joint project by the UAE’s Group 42 and China’s Sinopharm CNBG, and was announced on the sidelines of an official visit by the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, to the UAE.

The new vaccine plant in KIZAD will become operational this year and over its phased development will have a production capacity of 200 million doses per annum across three filling lines and five automated packaging lines. The JV is already producing Hayat-Vax with its partner, Julphar in the UAE with an initial capacity of 2 million doses per month.

New JV between G42 and Sinopharm CNBG will be responsible for manufacturing #Hayat-Vax, the first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in the region, here in the UAE. Read more: https://t.co/1UyEcTeEEU pic.twitter.com/oAKC1qFdn5

— G42 (@G42ai) March 28, 2021

Hayat-Vax is the first Covid-19 vaccine production line in the UAE and comes shortly after Yi stated that China and UAE would collaborate on an affordable vaccine that would be made available to countries that need it especially within the Middle East and Africa.

Read: China, UAE to expedite production of affordable Covid-19 vaccines

“The UAE and China today inaugurated a new chapter in their historic and distinguished relations, under the title “Strategic Partnership for Humanity,” said Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

“We are continuing the efforts that we initiated at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis. A partnership that sets an example to be emulated for collaboration between friendly nations in times of crises. The joint project is an added value to the international efforts being made in the face of the Covid-19 crisis which has been taking a toll on everyday lives across the world,” added Sheikh Abdullah.

The first vaccine approved for emergency use within the UAE was the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine. The UAE became was the first country in the world to approve the vaccine on December 9, 2020 after initiating its trial in the country on June 23, 2020.

Commenting on the launch of the UAE’s first Covid-19 production line, Liu Jingzhen, Chairman of Sinopharm, said: “By taking this step, the UAE has paved the way for the registration and commercial production of Sinopharm’s vaccine in an embodiment of the significant efforts made by the two friendly nations to recover from the crisis. This project will play a significant role in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic in the UAE, the Arab region and the entire world.”

Meanwhile Peng Xiao, CEO of G42, added that the project will “revolutionise the life sciences industry in the region over the coming years,” reported state news agency WAM.
“G42 and CNBG have made significant achievements since 2020 thanks to their common vision and values,” Xiao added, noting that new technologies will allow the two sides to rapidly respond to the growing local and international demand for the vaccine.

On Sunday, the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention announced that 122,069 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were administered over the previous 24 hours.

The total number of doses provided until that point therefore stands at 8,081,751 with a vaccine distribution rate of 81.71 doses per 100 people.