gogogoo schreef:
A build-own-operate (BOO) project to manufacture influenza vaccine has been called off after years of delays, delivering a setback to the country's ambitious plan to be the first developing country to build an independent and self-sufficient vaccine manufacturing capacity, government and pharmaceutical industry sources said last week.
The project, which was launched in 2004, will be put on hold, as an operation plan submitted by Dutch pharmaceutical company Akzo Nobel was rejected by the Department of Health (DOH) earlier this month for failing to meet criteria stipulated in the Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects, a senior DOH official said on condition of anonymity.
The facility would have produced 2.5 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine annually, with the DOH allocating NT$4 billion for guaranteed purchases.
They have also indicated that in the past few years, local pharmaceutical companies have acquired advanced biotechnology and manufacturing abilities, pointing to cooperation between the ADI and Dutch biomedical company Crucell.
The private venture is expected to manufacture about 30 million doses of flu vaccine per year for both the domestic and international markets, according to the ADI.