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Sanofi Breaks Ground on State-of-the-Art Facility in Swiftwater for Sustainable Production of Pandemic Flu Vaccines

Bridgewater, NJ, April 4, 2023. Sanofi and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), celebrated today the groundbreaking of a new, state-of-the-art formulation and filling facility at Sanofi’s Swiftwater site in Pennsylvania.

The new formulation and filling facility will be a two-story building complete with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) formulation, filling, and support areas. The filler will be capable of filling syringe and vials using isolator barrier technology and single use technology for flexibility. This manufacturing facility represents one of three significant manufacturing investments made at the site, supported by federal funds, as part of a contract awarded earlier on December 5, 2019 by BARDA to increase domestic production capabilities for recombinant pandemic influenza vaccines.

Rakesh Kakkar
US Head of Vaccine Manufacturing and Supply, Sanofi
“This groundbreaking event marks another significant step in our longstanding relationship with BARDA. Past pandemics confirmed that public-private partnerships are key to providing a relevant and quick answer to pandemic situations. Our Swiftwater site, and Sanofi teams globally, have the highest level of expertise in helping to protect people against flu and its complications. We are committed to maintaining continuous efforts to prepare for the next flu pandemic.”

The Sanofi-BARDA contract supports the clinical development of an adjuvanted recombinant pandemic influenza vaccine that utilizes Sanofi's existing recombinant influenza vaccine. The contract also expands the Swiftwater site's capacity to be a center of excellence for pandemic preparedness by enhancing vaccine manufacturing, adding both recombinant and adjuvant technologies to the current egg-based platform capabilities.

This project has been supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under contract number 75A50120D00002.

About Pandemic Preparedness
As the world’s largest manufacturer of seasonal flu vaccines, Sanofi has established capability and can play its part to bring any new pandemic infection under control. Sanofi has extensive expertise and experience in flu prevention, providing over 250 million doses of flu vaccines every year to more than 120 countries. Sanofi also developed and registered vaccines to address the 2009 A/HIN1 pandemic in a matter of weeks.

Egg-based vaccine supply would well contribute to support a global influenza pandemic response should it arise either from A/H5N1 or any other influenza strain. The objective of Sanofi’s contract with BARDA is to expand pandemic influenza preparedness and leverage another – recombinant, protein-based – technology to deliver a pandemic vaccine.

About Recombinant Technology
Production of recombinant flu vaccines does not require an egg or cell-grown vaccine virus or the candidate vaccine virus. Instead, recombinant vaccines are created synthetically by using the virus’s genetic instructions, ensuring exact match of the vaccine with the circulating virus strain.

About Sanofi
We are an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. Our team, across some 100 countries, is dedicated to transforming the practice of medicine by working to turn the impossible into the possible. We provide potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions of people globally, while putting sustainability and social responsibility at the center of our ambitions.

Sanofi is listed on EURONEXT: SAN and NASDAQ: SNY.

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Nathalie Pham | + 33 7 85 93 30 17 | nathalie.pham@sanofi.com


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