Sinopharm’s Wuhan Affiliate to Produce 1 Billion COVID-19 Shots a Year

The Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm, has announced that it will expand its annual capacity to manufacture at least 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Sinopharm has set a total annual capacity target of 3 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses. Another Sinopharm affiliate, the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, already has an annual capacity of 1 billion doses and is also building a new facility to increase production.

In early May, the World Health Organization listed one of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, clearing the way for its global distribution through the Covax initiative, which is aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.