Intravacc’s modern pilot production plant will soon be operational, the company has announced. In addition, the company is leading a consortium that will start with the concept design (phase I) of a so-called multi-purpose vaccine production plant. The factory will be designed to quickly and safely produce sufficient doses of vaccine specifically for the Netherlands in times of emergency.
In 2019, the Antonie van Leeuwenhoek site project management team of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, together with Intravacc, started the construction of a pilot production factory at the Utrecht Science Park (USP). The pilot production factory, under the project name Building X, was built in less than 24 months. The plant will be officially put into use in the second quarter of 2021 and is equipped for the production of candidate vaccines under GMP conditions to support Phase I and II clinical safety and effectiveness studies in humans.
A consortium led by Intravacc and further consisting of Bilthoven Biologicals, Poonawalla Science Park, Utrecht Science Park and the Alt Foundation, has signed a letter of intent after the completion of a feasibility study to start the development of a so-called Conceptual Process Design (Phase I) of a multi-purpose vaccine production plant on the USP site in Bilthoven.
The USP site in Bilthoven has an environmental permit managed by the Alt Foundation. Since all necessary permits are available, it is possible to build the multi-purpose plant within 30 months, Intravacc claims. The plant will be designed to fulfil a ‘pilot light function’ to be used immediately in case of pandemic situations, while at normal times, the plant will be available for the production of vaccines by Intravacc and other companies. It will have a target capacity for batches of between 40 and 200 million doses per year. The plant will be suitable for the formulation and production of vaccines, as well as for filling and packaging the vaccine vials.
Dr Jan Groen, CEO of Intravacc, said: “A new and state-of-the-art multi-purpose vaccine production plant facility, in combination with the now almost completed pilot plant, would make the Netherlands much less dependent on foreign vaccine production in the event of a future pandemic. The construction of this multi-purpose vaccine production plant also contributes to attracting new companies on the USP site in Bilthoven and thus to continuity of employment after the imminent departure of the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment – RIVM – from the site within the next two years."
Earlier this year, Intravacc announced a collaboration with Cristal Therapeutics on a vaccine program initially targeting COVID-19.
