Sanofi and Nanolek announced a new stage in the development of a long-term partnership - the launch of a project to localize the production of a combined conjugate vaccine for the prevention of meningococcal infection. This partnership will help extend the opportunities for protecting Russian children from meningococcal infection (MI), the number of cases of which in the Russian Federation increased by 10% in 2018 as compared to 2017.

Vladimir Khristenko, President of Nanolek, comments: “We are pleased to develop a long-term partnership with Sanofi, thanks to which the most advanced vaccine production technologies can now be used in the Russian Federation. Our partner project has been over four years old; throughout this time, we have gained valuable experience and use it for the benefit of the health of Russian people. “We greatly appreciate the opportunity to be a company partner in the Russian Federation and through our joint efforts to protect children from dangerous infections.”

Guillaume Oshalter, General Manager, Sanofi Pasteur Russia, and Belarus, noted: “This year, the World Health Organization included the rejection of vaccination in the list of influential global threats to humankind. Such deliberate refusal of vaccination can lead to outbreaks of fatal and life-threatening infectious diseases. Sanofi has been contributing to the fight against vaccine-preventable infections for many years, and we are pleased to extend this successful cooperation with our reliable partner, Nanolek, to combat an extremely dangerous disease - meningitis. This is our contribution to accomplish the mission of Sanofi Pasteur, which is “no one in the world should die nor suffer from vaccine-preventable infections.”

As a preliminary stage for long-term cooperation, a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) was signed, in which the companies expressed their desire to organize local vaccine production in the Russian Federation. The result of such cooperation between the two companies will be the guaranteed and uninterrupted availability of the MI vaccine in Russia.

As part of the MoI, the parties agreed on the conditions necessary for the implementation of the project, including checking the compliance of the premises and equipment, as well as the packaging area of the Nanolek production site with GMP requirements and Sanofi Pasteur standards. Based on the results of the technical assessment conducted by Sanofi Pasteur, the companies will identify and evaluate investments in materials and equipment needed to organize vaccine production. The start of the production of the MI preventive vaccine at the Nanolek plant will be possible as early as 2021.

The companies share a common goal - to protect Russian children from vaccine-preventable infections. Sanofi Pasteur and Nanolek have already made significant steps in achieving this goal. Consequently, since 2016, the Sanofi company’s five-component combined pediatric vaccine has been localized at the Nanolek biomedical production complex. During this time, the company produced five million doses of the vaccine. Besides, since 2017, the vaccine has been successfully supplied as part of the National Calendar of Preventive Vaccinations.
Today, vaccination is the only reliable way to avoid many serious infections, as well as subsequent complications. Nowadays, vaccination is carried out for kids around the world, which saves about three million children’s lives every year.