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The vaccine produced by Vingroup is expected to enter clinical trials next month. Illustrative image: cafef.vn

Vingroup, a leading Vietnamese multi-sectoral conglomerate, is building a Covid-19 vaccine plant in Hanoi, with a designed capacity of 100-200 million doses each year.

The group has negotiated with US-based Arcturus Therapeutics, a leading clinical-stage messenger RNA medicines company, on the transfer of Covid-19 vaccine production technology.

Arcturus focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of medicines for rare diseases, and vaccines. It has developed a vaccine called Arcturus Covid-19, using the same mRNA technology as the vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna.

The vaccine produced by Vingroup is expected to enter clinical trials next month.

Located at the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi’s outskirts district of Thach That, the plant is among the five key projects allowed to proceed during social distancing in the city.

Municipal authorities have asked the project investor and contractor to observe Covid-19 prevention and control regulations, and draw up a scenario for infections at the construction site.

Vietnam is stepping up vaccinations. Over 5.3 million shots have been given so far, with nearly 500,000 people having been fully vaccinated. Photo: VOV

Earlier Vingroup established pharmaceutical company Vinbiocare with a charter capital of VND200 billion ($8.6 million), focusing on medicines and vaccines.

Vingroup owns 69% of Vinbiocare Biotechnology JSC, which is headquartered in Hanoi, while Phan Quoc Viet, CEO of tech firm Viet A Technology Corporation, owns 30%. The remaining 1% is held by an individual investor, Phan Thu Huong.

According to Vingroup’s Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, vaccine production is a non-profit business that aims to meet domestic demand.

In the first half of the year, Vietnam has received about 9.3 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by AstraZeneca either through contracts, the global vaccine access mechanism Covax or foreign aid.

AstraZeneca doses account for around 62 percent of all vaccine doses available to Vietnam at the moment.

The country has now received a total of over 14.8 million Covid-19 vaccine doses. Over 5.3 million shots have been given so far, with nearly 500,000 people having been fully vaccinated.

A police officer stands guard at a barrier to isolate an infected area in downtown Hanoi, July 2021. Photo: VnExpress

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