UAE drug firm is making Sinopharm vaccine

An Emirati drug maker is already producing the Sinopharm vaccine and could soon ramp up production to hit 2 million doses per month.The disclosure was made on Monday after the UAE and China sealed a major vaccine deal on Sunday night.In a news release, Ras Al Khaimah drug maker Julphar and Abu Dhabi's Group 42 said a dedicated facility would soon be built in the capital's Kizad freezone.Doses are already rolling off a production line at Julphar's main plant in RAK.The UAE vaccine will be known as Hayat-Vax - Hayat means 'life' in Arabic.

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 release from G42 read."The joint venture is already producing Hayat-Vax with its partner, Julphar in UAE with an initial capacity of 2 million doses per month."

On Monday, Julphar formally updated Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) with details of the deal. It said commercial production would progress from April.Hayat-Vax is the same Sinopharm CNBG’s BiBP inactivated vaccine that was registered by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on December 9, 2020.