SaudiVax to increase halal vaccine availability in the Middle East with FlexFactory from Cytiva

• SaudiVax intends to increase access to vaccines to 20 times more people in the Middle East and Africa than today
• First bioprocessing facility for halal vaccines in-region, for region
• Remote Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) helped avoid COVID-19 related delays

November 17, 2020 - Cytiva, a global life sciences leader, is installing its first FlexFactory in the Middle East and North African region as part of SaudiVax’s planned Saudi Vaccine and Bioprocessing Center (SVBC), a Saudi government-funded project led by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and the National Industrial Development Center. The SVBC will use Cytiva’s FlexFactory to manufacture halal vaccines and biologics in-region, for-region, as part of an effort to heighten protection against the spread of communicable diseases among Saudi residents and visitors to the region.

Professor Mazen M. Hassanain, the Managing Director of SaudiVax, says: “This is the beginning of a great effort to actually develop and manufacture vaccines and biologics in Saudi Arabia and deliver them to satisfy the needs of the Kingdom, the Middle East and Africa. The lack of vaccines, for regional diseases, and some of the essential biologics make our purpose clear. Working with Cytiva, we’ve been able to complete construction and qualification of the bioreactors– even during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The annual Hajj and the year-round Umrah attract millions of pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia every year. In 2019, more than 21.5 million religious pilgrims visited the region1, and over 650,000 electronic Umrah permits have already been issued this year, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such large-scale gatherings are a known risk for the spread of communicable diseases, with millions of people spending extended time in close proximity during pilgrimage events or at crowded accommodations. Past events have resulted in flu and meningococcal outbreaks.