AstraZeneca today announced the official launch of its supply chain in Thailand, with the first doses of locally produced COVID-19 vaccine ready to be gradually rolled out.
The new supply chain was established in partnership with Siam Bioscience, a leading Thai manufacturer with specialism in biopharmaceutical medicines, to support broad and equitable access to the vaccine in Southeast Asia. AstraZeneca will deliver the first locally produced vaccine doses to Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, in support of their mass vaccination program. Distribution to other Southeast Asian countries will commence in the coming weeks.
James Teague, Country President, AstraZeneca (Thailand) Ltd., said: “This is a major milestone in the battle against COVID-19. Ramping up the production of our vaccine in Thailand in only a few months is a tremendous achievement, thanks to the outstanding collaboration with our manufacturing partner, Siam Bioscience.”
“Now that we are ready to deliver high-quality vaccine produced locally, we can help the Thai government achieve its goal of ensuring the effective vaccination of people in Thailand as quickly as possible.”
Air Chief Marshal Satitpong Sukvimol, Chairman, Siam Bioscience Co., Ltd., and Mr Teague together marked the milestone at a ceremony today.
Nualphan Lamsam, Honorary Director of Corporate Communications, Siam Bioscience Co., Ltd., said: “Siam Bioscience is proud to have been selected by AstraZeneca as its local manufacturing partner and we take our role of producing high-quality COVID-19 vaccine as fast as possible very seriously. It is an honour to work for the wellbeing of the Thai people, to help bring the acute phase of the pandemic in Thailand and the region to an end.”
The first doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca at Siam Bioscience have been authorized for quality and safety by both local regulators and international testing laboratories, now allowing their release this week. As part of the manufacturing process, each batch of the vaccine undergoes more than 60 different quality assurance control tests and review processes.
AstraZeneca has established a novel global supply network, with 16 distinct supply chains and 25 manufacturing partners across more than 15 countries. Siam Bioscience is the only manufacturing site of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in Southeast Asia, and it will play a critical role in the supply to other Southeast Asian countries, helping to drive forward Thailand’s Healthcare Strategy of being a regional medical hub. The vaccine will be ready for export to other Southeast Asian countries in July.
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be well-tolerated and highly effective against all disease severities across all adults in clinical trials, and emerging real-world evidence from tens of millions of people also shows that the vaccine reduces severe disease and hospital admissions by more than 80% after the first dose.
AstraZeneca has committed to supply its COVID-19 vaccine globally without profit during the pandemic. To date, the company has supplied over 500 million doses to 168 countries. (NNT)
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