Mumbai-headquartered pharmaceutical company Wockhardt Ltd to supply millions of covid-19 vaccines to UK

Indian drug maker Wockhardt Ltd recently signed an agreement with the UK government. It has agreed to supply millions of doses of multiple covid-19 vaccines to Britain. The 18 month agreement is a part of the UK government’s effort to accelerate covid-19 manufacturing in the country.

The vaccines will be manufactured at CP Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Wockhardt based in Wrexham, North Wales. The drug manufacturer will also be involved in dispensing the manufactured vaccine substance into vials and distributing them. Among the vaccines that Wockhardt has reserved rights for manufacturing and supply also include AZD1222, the vaccine co-invented by the University of Oxford and Vaccitech.

“The pandemic of Covid-19 is a challenge for all and needs a concerted effort to overcome. We are proud to be collaborating with the UK government to make vaccines available and the arrangement brings in a huge sense of purpose and pride, it upholds our ongoing commitment to fight against such a pandemic of global human importance. As a global organisation, we are focused and committed to assist in mitigating the worldwide impact of Covid-19,” said Dr Habil Khorakiwala, Founder of Wockhardt.

The number of coronavirus cases globally has crossed 18 million with more than 680,000 deaths. In the UK, there have been more than 3 lakh confirmed covid-19 cases with the number of deaths standing at around 40,000. Therefore, ensuring a favourable ecosystem for R&D and manufacturing of vaccines has become the need of the hour. “Today, we have secured additional capacity to manufacture millions of doses of multiple covid-19 candidates, guaranteeing the supply of vaccines we need to protect people across the UK rapidly and in large numbers,” said Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Government  of UK.