First look: UAE-made Covid vaccine production begins as Hayat-Vax is rolled out

Abu Dhabi - Hayat — meaning ‘life’ in Arabic — is the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine in the region to be manufactured by a newly created joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s G42 and Sinopharm.

Ashwani Kumar

Published: Tue 30 Mar 2021, 2:42 AM

Last updated: Tue 30 Mar 2021, 6:16 AM

The UAE is producing a Covid-19 vaccine called Hayat-Vax in the country, a local entity involved in the process said.

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Hayat — meaning ‘life’ in Arabic — is the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine in the region to be manufactured by a newly created joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s G42 and Sinopharm. Hayat-Vax is the same Sinopharm vaccine that was registered by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention in December last year.

In a statement, G42 revealed that the joint venture is already producing Hayat-Vax with its partner — Ras Al Khaimah-based pharma firm Julphar — with an initial capacity of 2 million doses per month.

This announcement comes a day after Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, launched a joint project by G42 and Sinopharm to start a production line in the UAE.

Now, a purpose-built research and development hub for life sciences, biotechnology and vaccine production — the first-of-its-kind in the Arab world — is being set up in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad).

The new vaccine plant will become operational this year and, over its phased development, will have a production capacity of 200 million doses per annum across three filling lines and five automated packaging lines.

Elaborating on the Hayat-Vax and the new joint venture plans, Peng Xiao, CEO of G42, said: “The launch of the vaccine manufacturing capabilities in the UAE is a momentous step in the fight against Covid-19. We are grateful to the shared vision of UAE and China, their true partnership and collaboration to make this a reality. This initiative in the UAE is a strategic advancement to future-proof the population health of our nations. Our joint venture is also actively looking to bring our capabilities to new markets around the world.”

This first ever ‘Made in UAE’ Hayat-Vax Covid-19 vaccine will bolster the nationwide vaccination campaign across 205 medical centres in the country.