Prime Minister inaugurates Univercells’ new vaccine production facility
Vaccines, made in Belgium, but with a positive impact all over the world. That is the story behind Univercells, which opened a new production site for (corona) vaccines in Charleroi, in the presence of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Minister Meryame Kitir and Secretary of State Thomas Dermine today. The company will also work with African partners to develop and produce vaccines there, an important move to protect everyone and save lives.
The visit is part of the R&D Biopharma Platform, which the Prime Minister launched together with the pharmaceutical sector at the end of October last year to make Belgium the "health and biotech valley" of the future. After all, our country has a rich biotech ecosystem (not only in Charleroi, but also in Ghent, for example, thanks to pioneering work by done by VIB). Thanks to Belgian expertise and innovations in drug development, every day lives are saved all over the world.
Confidence in Charleroi
The new Univercells production unit confirms the company's confidence in Belgian know-how. The site in Charleroi covers 900 square meters and will manufacture an average of 150 million vaccine doses per year.
Thanks to technology developed in 2014, the company also has the right tools to develop more vaccines on a smaller surface area, reducing the price per vaccine, an expertise they want to share with their partners in Africa (including Senegal and Ghana).
Belgium = part of the solution
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is particularly proud that our country is sharing its expertise and can be part of the solution in a global crisis.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo: "During the COVID crisis, our country was part of the solution, thanks to the expertise we have developed. Univercells, which is deeply rooted in our Belgian biopharmaceutical ecosystem, is an excellent example of a company that has succeeded in exporting our know-how abroad. As a result, vaccines can be produced at a lower cost, especially in Africa. Progress, and Belgian success, are even better if everyone benefits from it."
