SINOVAC Launches Its First Overseas Jointly Invested Vaccine Production Plant in Türkiye

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Attends the Inauguration Ceremony for KeyVac on October 31

November 1, 2023, Beijing, China – Sinovac Biotech Ltd. ("SINOVAC" or the "Company"), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, launched the vaccine manufacturing plant owned by KeyVac Biological Products Industry and Trade Join Stock Company ("KeyVac") in partnership with a Turkish company, named Alagöz Holding Company on October 31. The inauguration ceremony marks the completion of SINOVAC's first overseas vaccine production plant.

Located in the capital city of Ankara, Türkiye, KeyVac is a vaccine company with the production capacity of 30 million doses per year. Leveraging SINOVAC's cutting-edge technology, KeyVac is committed to develop, produce and supply vaccines for Türkiye’s local immunization plan, beginning with hepatitis A vaccine. KeyVac has passed the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection and obtained the certification in October 2023.

Other than the local production of existing licensed human vaccines, KeyVac's plan is to engage in research and development of new preventive vaccines, aiming to meet the unmet medical need in Türkiye and enhance regional public health.

During the new facility’s inauguration ceremony, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan highlighted that Türkiye will be able to produce the hepatitis A vaccine to high standards domestically. "What happened during the coronavirus pandemic has shown us how critical the vaccine production capability is," said President Erdoğan, adding that "Our dependence on foreign supplies will decrease. We will also be able to advance and train talents in this industry."

"The hepatitis A vaccine, used to prevent hepatitis A virus infection, has been included in Türkiye's routine immunization schedule since 2012. Türkiye previously relied on imported hepatitis A vaccines. With the factory's operation, we will be able to localize production and supply to meet the healthcare needs of the Turkish people in a better way", said President Erdoğan. He envisioned that the vaccine production capability is regarded as a source of benefit and strategic importance for the city of Ankara, Türkiye, and the Turkish people and communities.

SINOVAC's hepatitis A vaccine, Healive^®, is the first and only hepatitis A vaccine from China prequalified by the World Health Organization. It offers sustained protection for over 30 years after full-course immunization¹.

SINOVAC in Türkiye: A history of partnership

SINOVAC has long served as an international partner in Türkiye's national healthcare efforts, supplying the country with millions of doses of its vaccines and supporting local communities in the fight against infectious diseases, such as varicella and COVID-19. During the pandemic, SINOVAC's joint research with Turkish scientists on the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine was published in the world-leading academic journal The Lancet and played an important role providing crucial scientific evidence for the vaccine’s global deployment. This scientific partnership has fostered innovation and earned trust for SINOVAC’s mission to supply vaccines to eliminate human diseases.

Reference:

1. Xiaoli Wang, Wenguo Xu, Yuansheng Hu, Hui Yao, Li Xu, Minhua Ma, Ying Zhang & Yalong Wang (2023) Immunogenicity persistence of hepatitis A vaccines Healive^® and Havrix^® among children:15 years follow-up and long-term prediction, Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 19:2, DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2023.2227549

About KeyVac

KeyVac, established through a collaboration between SINOVAC and the local Turkish partner Alagöz Holding Company, is dedicated to the research, development, import, production, and sale of human vaccines and other health products.

The construction of the KeyVac facility commenced in November 2012, with a total investment of $100 million and covering 29,500 square meters. Annual production capacity is 30 million doses. The facility's production areas, laboratories, and other buildings have been built in accordance with the standards of the WHO and the European Union. The entire production chain, including production, quality control, transportation, and storage, strictly adheres to international standards, ensuring vaccine safety and effectiveness. The facility received the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification for drug production quality management in Turkey in October 2023. The initial vaccine to be produced in the facility is the inactivated hepatitis A vaccine, with plans to introduce other vaccines in the future, including the varicella and influenza vaccines.